You're My Best Friend
by Hobbit985
Summary: Revamped. Angsty fic, but plenty of good stuff. Please stick with it. :D Death, disaster and the all important DocRose fluff. Read and Review. Mickey never travelled with them by the way.
1. Chapter 1

**Ooh you make me live  
Whatever this world can give to me  
It's you you're all I see  
Ooo you make me live now honey  
Ooo you make me live**

The Doctor pushed his glasses up his nose and glanced at the screen on the TARDIS, checking Rose was still asleep and ok. He'd been fixing things on the console for the past few hours but something made him stop now.

He took a swig of the cup of tea and pondered the first time he'd met Rose. The Time War had affected him badly and he hadn't recovered very well, but somehow she'd made everything seem that little bit better.

After that they'd had several adventures before she'd finally asked and he'd finally had to explain. The Doctor hadn't thought about the Time War since he'd first met Rose and he'd found that it had become a distant memory, something that didn't matter when he was with Rose.****

Ooh you're the best friend that I ever had  
I've been with you such a long time  
You're my sunshine and I want you to know  
That my feelings are true  
I really love you  
Oh you're my best friend

The Doctor sat down on the chair in the console room, propping his feet up and continued to drink his tea. He didn't notice Rose wake up and wander towards the console room. The Doctor got the shock of his life when she cleared her throat and he almost spilt his tea everywhere causing Rose to giggle.

"Sorry," she whispered sitting next to him. He put his now almost empty cup down and wrapped his arm round her waist.

"It's alright," he said as she leant against him. "What's up?"

"Couldn't sleep," Rose shrugged.

"Something bothering you?" The Doctor asked brushing a strand of hair off Rose's face. He was afraid in case Rose was still made at him over the Madam De Pompadour incident the other day. She hadn't been very pleased when the Doctor had come clean.

"Well," Rose paused for a moment. "I'm kinda scared that my best friend doesn't like me very much at the minute 'cause I acted like an idiot over this woman from the eighteenth century."

The Doctor smiled to himself slightly and chuckled.

"You weren't an idiot," the Doctor said. "And I do like you. You wouldn't be my best friend if I didn't."

"But I was acting stupid," Rose said. "There was no need for me to go off on one."

"You were just jealous," the Doctor joked.

"Yeah I was," Rose blurted out before she could stop herself.

"Really?" The Doctor asked.

Rose turned to look at him and nodded, smiling slightly.

"To be honest, I didn't kiss her because I found her attractive," the Doctor admitted. "It was more a connection we shared. She was lonely as a child and she found out that I was the same. We just shared the same misery and I guess I we just needed that moment to confirm we weren't alone."

"So, what kind of person are you attracted to?" Rose asked cheekily.

"Beautiful, smart, friendly," the Doctor began to reel off qualities.

"Blonde and twenty?" Rose said quietly, her face inches from the Doctor's.

"Yeah," the Doctor said, eyes glancing from Rose's own to her lips.

"Doctor," Rose swallowed.

"Mm?" The Doctor asked, his nose almost touching Rose's.

"I love you," she whispered.

"I love you too," the Doctor replied ducking his head to kiss Rose.

**Ooo you make me live**

Ooh I've been wandering round  
But I still come back to you  
In rain or shine  
You've stood by me, girl  
I'm happy at home  
You're my best friend

Rose melted into the Doctor straight away, all thoughts of Madam De Pompadour gone. She didn't care that he'd kissed another woman, all that mattered was here and now and the touch of the Doctor's hand cupping her cheek.

He ran his tongue along the bottom of Rose's lip making her shiver as he requested entrance which she gladly gave. She'd been waiting for this moment for so long that it almost didn't seem real.

She finally felt she'd found home, her soul mate was connecting with her in such a way she'd never been able to with anyone else. Even with Mickey it had been more a case of 'I should be with someone like him' she never really loved him. But the Doctor was so much more than a man he was her best friend, her world, her everything. ****

Ooo you make me live  
Whenever this world is cruel to me  
I got you to help me forgive  
Ooo you make me live now honey  
Ooo you make me live

The Doctor could feel all his pent up frustration and love for Rose being let out in that one kiss. Rose was the one person he would give anything to or for, even his own life.

She was his equal. He had had a temper in his previous incarnation and when the Dalek had threatened to kill her he'd thought nothing of destroying it. After all, not only were the Dalek's responsible for the Time War, destroying his home and his family, but the last one was now attempting to kill Rose Tyler, the smartest, most fantastic person he'd ever met.

But Rose had shown him that destroying the Dalek wasn't the way. She proved to the Doctor that taking the moral high ground and walking away was better. Rose had proved to have a smarter outlook on life and the Doctor instantly fell in love with her kind nature and soft touch.****

You're the first one  
When things turn out bad  
You know I'll never be lonely  
You're my only one  
And I love the things  
I really love the things that you do  
You're my best friend

Rose bought a hand up to the Doctor's face, caressing it gently as she moved closer. They were always meant to be together and this kiss was proof. The one thing that had worried her the most when she first travelled with the Doctor was if they got separated. She couldn't stand the thought that he'd have no one to hold his hand or that he'd long for his kind and feel alone without them. But Rose knew now they'd never be lonely as long as they had each other.****

Ooo you make me live

I'm happy at home  
You're my best friend  
Oh   
Oh you're my best friend  
Ooo you make me live  
You you're my best friend

The Doctor pulled back for a moment to gaze at Rose. He grinned and she smiled back.

"You know Rose," the Doctor said quietly. "I never had someone like you before."

"Neither have I," Rose admitted hugging him.

"Best not to mention it to your mother," the Doctor said and Rose nodded.

"So what are we?" She asked. "If Mum asks."

"Best friend," the Doctor grinned, dipping his head to kiss her again.


	2. Chapter 2

_AN: Due to popular demand I have agreed to turn this into a fully fledged story. It's going to get very angsty but at the same time still very fluffy. Please review and I hope you like. : D_

The TARDIS was quiet and peaceful that night. The lights were dimmed and the gentle hum in the background made it seem like the TARDIS itself was sound asleep. Rose Tyler was lying in her bed staring at the doorway to her bedroom thinking about what had happened earlier.

She really wanted to get up and find the Doctor, but after their little conversation he too had gone off to his room. Rose sighed and turned onto her back, staring at the ceiling and thinking.

In the end she gave up trying to sleep and swung her legs out of bed. She stood up and wandered out of her room, down the corridor and towards the Doctor's room. She paused in the doorway watching his sleeping form and smiled to herself. He had his back to her, but Rose could imagine the look on the Doctor's gorgeous face.

"Are you going to stand there all night?" Rose almost jumped in fright as the Doctor spoke. He turned over and grinned at her, looking slightly ridiculous in his stripy pyjamas. "Sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"S'ok," Rose said stepping into the room. She stopped at the bed nervously a hand outstretched uncertainly. "Can I..?"

"Sure," the Doctor pulled the covers back, allowing Rose to climb in. He wrapped an arm around her, pulling her close and brushing some of her hair of her face. "What are you still doing up?"

"Just couldn't sleep," Rose replied, snuggling into the Doctor as he moulded against her back.

"Sorry, was that my fault?" He asked worriedly.

"Well… sort of," Rose said turning slightly pink. "Telling someone you love them tends to make their mind kind of explode…"

"Ah, yeah that," the Doctor continued.

"I mean I wouldn't have it any other way," Rose said quickly, turning to look at him. "But-"

The Doctor kissed her before she could continue and she forgot what she was going to say.

"I know what you mean," he said, resting his forehead against hers.

She smiled slightly, wrapping her fingers round one of his hands. He squeezed it reassuringly.

"Love you," Rose said closing her eyes.

"Love you too," the Doctor replied.

The next morning the pair awoke late, still in each others arms. The Doctor stretched and got up, dressing in his usual brown suit and trench coat. Rose watched him sleepily.

"Not gonna lie there all morning are you?" He asked smoothing down his clothes.

"Mmm… no," Rose said finally stretching and turning over in the bed.

"I'll be in the console room when you're done," the Doctor said wandering out into the corridor.

"Ok," Rose nodded watching him go.

She stayed in bed for a few minutes longer before finally deciding to get up and wander to her own room and fetch her clothes.

Rose washed, dressed and tidied up the clutter that had somehow managed to scatter itself everywhere.

When she wandered into the console room grinning she didn't notice the pensive look on the Doctor's face for several seconds. The smile slipped.

"What?" She asked frowning slightly.

"Your Mum just phoned," he said quietly.

"Is she alright?" Rose looked at the Doctor worriedly. "Doctor what's wrong?"

"I don't know, but she sounded upset," the Doctor held out a hand which she took. "She wants us to come home."

"Yeah, of course," Rose nodded. The Doctor pulled a lever glancing at Rose who looked like she was considering every possible option. "She didn't say what it was about? At all?"

"No," the Doctor answered honestly, pulling her into a hug. "I'm sure it's nothing serious."

"Then why did she sound so upset?" Rose asked close to tears.

"Hey, come on," the Doctor said rocking her gently. "It might only be something like a break in. I know it's bad but at least no one's hurt, yeah?"

Rose nodded, tears rolling down her cheeks.

The TARDIS landed and the pair of them went out through the doors, towards the flat and up the stairs.

When her Mum answered the door she threw her arms round Rose and dragged the pair of them in, obviously distraught about something.

"Mum," Rose said wiping her own face. "What is wrong?"

"I couldn't tell you over the phone…" Jackie sobbed, rubbing her face with her hands.

"What happened?" Asked Rose in barely more than a whisper sensing that it was something bad. The Doctor stood behind her hands on her shoulders, holding her steady.

"It's Mickey," Jackie said her voice wobbling dangerously. "He's dead."


	3. Chapter 3

Rose stared at her mother for a moment before speaking.

"What?" She asked. "You're joking right?"

She knew her mother would never joke about such a thing but Rose would've given anything for it not to be true. Jackie didn't reply, just sank into one of the armchairs and Rose knew that Mickey really was gone.

Rose backed away towards the door and before the Doctor could stop her he heard it slam as she ran out. The Doctor looked at Jackie sadly. As much as he'd never liked the idiot he'd have never wished Mickey dead. He knew this was going to affect Rose badly and finally he spurred himself into action.

"I'm sorry," he whispered. "I have to go and find Rose."

Jackie nodded and the Doctor headed out of the flat, looking over the balcony for any sign of Rose as he headed for the stairs. There was no race of the blonde girl as he stepped onto the court below, only the memory of when he'd just regenerated and he'd asked her if she still wanted to travel with him.

Mickey had been there then. He'd even asked her if she'd ever stop travelling. The Doctor couldn't help feeling a little guilty. Maybe if he'd never met Rose then maybe Mickey wouldn't have died.

Shaking his head to clear it of those thoughts he glanced at the TARDIS mentally checking to see I Rose was in there. The reply from the TARDIS was 'no' and the Doctor continued past it towards the park just outside the block of flats.

He saw Rose sat on one of the swings in the park. The Doctor paused, stuffing his hands in his pockets before wandering over and sitting on the one beside her. She didn't acknowledge he was there but the Doctor knew she was glad of the company. They sat in silence for a few minutes, the Doctor unsure of what to say.

"We never thought it would end this way," Rose said suddenly, her voice wobbling. The Doctor looked at her intently, his hearts aching because he couldn't make her feel better. "When we were little, we'd always talk about what we'd do in the future, but we never thought that I'd end up going off with an alien and Mickey… Mickey…"

Rose couldn't finish her sentence; her hands flew up to her face trying to stop the tears that were going to fall.

"Hey," the Doctor stood up; pulling Rose up too so he could sit on the swing with her on his lap. He made shushing noise, trying to calm Rose down.

"I never told him… told him…" Rose swallowed, wiping her face. "I never broke up with him properly."

The Doctor's arm tightened around Rose's waist.

"That wasn't your fault, ok?" The Doctor said quietly. "It was mine."

Rose sobbed again and the Doctor felt totally powerless. He hated the fact that there was nothing he could do to make her feel better. They sat quietly for several more minutes before Rose stood up and turned to look at him.

"We should go back," she said, her eyes red and puffy. "We can't leave Mum on her own."

The Doctor nodded, following her, reaching out instinctively for her hand. She took it, the air of desperation to hold someone evident in her grip.

They wandered slowly back toward the flat, neither in any rush to return to something so Mickey related as Jackie's flat. They found her making tea, trying to be normal and the Doctor and Rose felt like they'd stepped into the past, almost expecting Mickey to turn up.

But he didn't, and it wasn't normal, no matter how hard they tried. Jackie sat in the armchair once again, clutching a cup of tea; Rose leant against the Doctor on the sofa, her breathing ragged as she tried not to burst into tears again. Even the Doctor, who wouldn't normally have stuck around for something so domestic, for something he'd had to witness so many times, was quiet and subdued.

"Have you rung his Mum?" Rose asked, her eyes flitting to her own Mum. She nodded. Mickey's Mum had left him with his Gran many years ago and they hadn't seen her since. Mickey used to ring her occasionally but she never visited him.

"The funeral's on Saturday," Jackie said her voice hoarse. That gave them four days. But four days for what? Preparing a speech? And what would Rose do about the Doctor? People would ask questions, why was Mickey's old girlfriend with someone else? Rose wasn't sure she could take it.

Jackie suddenly remembered something and stood up, wandering into the kitchen. Rose closed her eyes, snuggling closer to the Doctor, trying to pretend everything was fine.

"Rose?" She opened her eyes again glancing up at her mother who was holding a letter out to her. "Mickey bought this round a while ago. He said it was just some stuff that you two had never sorted out and he thought perhaps a letter was a better way of dealing with it."

Rose sat up and took the letter from Jackie, looking at the neat lettering on the envelope. She looked from the Doctor to Jackie, both of whom were staring at her and she stood up taking it with her to the bathroom and locking the door.

Jackie sat back in the armchair and the Doctor sighed, rubbing his face, and taking his own letter out of his pocket, reading it and wondering whether Rose would hold on to Mickey's the way he held onto Reinette's.

Rose put the toilet seat down and sat on it, opening the letter and pulling it out. She tried not to cry, but the familiar scrawl that belonged to Mickey was too much for her.

_Rose,_

_I wanted to say sorry for making you feel guilty. I know why you left me, I know why you wanted to travel with the Doctor, and I know you love him now and not me. Don't worry about me, I'm fine. I'm sorry for being mad at you for leaving for a year, I know now you didn't do it on purpose. _

_Now I've probably made things really awkward by writing this stupid letter, but at least it'll clear the air a bit. Maybe. I still love you, kind of, as a friend. I just hope that you can still see me as a friend even though you have the Doctor. _

_I'll see you soon. Whenever you next get back._

_Love Mickey x x x _

Rose crumbled the letter in her hand, trying not to cry too loudly. She put a hand to her mouth rocking backwards and forwards.

The Doctor put Reinette's letter back in his pocket and stood up, heading for the bathroom. He knocked on the door, listening for Rose. She didn't answer.

"Rose, are you ok?" He asked gently. The lock clicked and Rose opened the door, flinging her arms round him. He held her close, wishing he could make everything better.

Later that night after Jackie had gone to bed; Rose and the Doctor stood in the console room, the Doctor tinkering, Rose trying to stay awake. She'd refused the room her mother offered; she didn't want to be anywhere that would remind her of Mickey. At least in the TARDIS they could pretend they were back in time, back to the last time they'd left when Mickey was still alive.

"Why don't you go to bed?" The Doctor suggested gently when he saw Rose yawn for the fourth time. She looked at him sadly, shaking her head.

The Doctor pocketed the Sonic Screwdriver and wandered over to her, scooping her up into his arms. She snuggled closer not protesting as he carried her towards his own bedroom.

"You can't not sleep," he said quietly. "You'll make yourself ill."

Rose didn't answer, but when the Doctor tucked her into his bed, she pulled him in too.

"Don't leave me," she said a note of desperation in her voice. The Doctor climbed in next to her, shrugging off his trench coat as he did.

"I won't, I promise," he said. Rose kissed him, the Doctor slightly taken aback by her sudden show of affection. But she didn't relent, pulling him closer. The Doctor didn't pull back though, knowing that Rose probably needed something to make her feel better.

Rose woke early the next morning and was alright for the first minute, and then she remembered. She turned over, facing the Doctor and found he was awake already. She tried and failed to smile.

The Doctor reached up a hand a gently stroked her face. She sighed through her nose, and reached out her own hand wrapping her fingers round his hand the way she'd done the other night.

"I'm sorry," Rose whispered.

"For what?" The Doctor asked frowning.

Rose shrugged, sitting up and pulling the covers round her, glancing round for her clothes.

"I love you, you know," the Doctor said sitting up too.

"Love you too," Rose replied, pulling her top towards her and slipping it on.

"Are you ok?" The Doctor watched Rose dress and head for the door.

"I feel sick," she replied not looking back.

"Rose wait!" The Doctor threw the covers off and pulling his own clothes on.

Rose was already in the bathroom throwing up when he found her. She sobbed, tying her hair back in a ponytail. The Doctor sat beside her and wrapped his trench coat around her as she started to shake.

She leant on the toilet bowl crying silently as she tried not to throw up again. The Doctor looked at her sadly.

"It'll get better," he said quietly.

"How?" Asked Rose, tears coursing down her face.

"Because you'll find someone who brings sunshine to the darkest times," the Doctor said, talking about how she made him feel after he lost Gallifrey.


	4. Chapter 4

The days to the funeral passed slowly. Rose found she could think of nothing but Mickey and she only stopped crying when she no longer had the energy. She spent most of her time either in her room or locked in the bathroom throwing up, only coming out at meal times. She ate very little and what she did she almost always brought straight back up afterwards.

Both the Doctor and Jackie were very worried about Rose. Her hair hung limply about her shoulders and her face looked pale apart from the dark rings around her eyes. She looked worse and worse the nearer the funeral came. The Doctor had asked her whether she wanted to attend or whether she'd prefer to visit Mickey's grave after, but Rose remained adamant that she was going to the funeral.

Rose toyed with the thought of asking her mum what exactly had happened to Mickey but she wasn't sure whether her stomach would be able to cope with knowing the details. He was dead, that was all that mattered.

On Saturday morning Rose woke early and the Doctor (who was uncharacteristically staying in the spare room so he was never too far away) and Jackie were woken by the sound of Rose throwing up. Again.

When Rose finally emerged from the bathroom bleary eyed the Doctor was waiting, already fully dressed for her. She practically fell into his arms and the pair clung to each other for a moment.

"Do you either of you want a cup of tea?" Jackie asked softly, ignoring the particularly strong show of affection for Rose's sake. Rose turned and smiled weakly at her mother.

"I'm ok thanks," she said wandering into the living room behind Jackie and flopping down onto the sofa still clad in her teddy bear pyjamas. If it weren't for the situation the Doctor might've made a comment about how cute they made her look, but he quickly forgot that thought when he remembered why they were here.

The Doctor sat opposite her in one of the armchairs and watched Rose as she clutched her stomach, trying to keep her inside where they should be with willpower.

"Do you want something for your stomach?" The Doctor asked gently. Rose looked at him, frowning slightly. "The TARDIS can help you keep your meals in."

Rose nodded, looking away again.

"Yeah, thanks," she said quietly.

Jackie started serving up tea, toast and cereal then. Rose took one look at the food and made a hasty retreat back to the bathroom leaving the Doctor and her mother to talk.

"She's really not well," Jackie said quietly. The Doctor resisted the urge to say 'well duh'.

"Yeah," he said nodding in agreement as he took a bite of toast. "I think she's still in shock."

"Shock my foot," Jackie replied frowning worriedly as she spooned some sugar into her tea. "There's something really wrong with her. I can tell."

"Mothers intuition?" The Doctor asked curiously.

"Yeah," Jackie replied. "And don't even think about mocking me."

"Actually on Gallifrey mothers have an extremely strong bond with their young," the Doctor said slightly hurt that Jackie would think he'd mock her at a time like this. "A bond strong enough for the mother to be able to hear their child's thoughts."

Jackie looked at him oddly for a moment then shook her head and took a sip of tea. The Doctor sighed and picked up his own mug.

"I'll do a scan when we get back," the Doctor promised. "I'll find out what's wrong."

Rose was sat in the bathroom trying to get rid of the sickly taste in her mouth. It would all be over later and maybe once she'd said goodbye to Mickey properly she'd stop throwing up so much. She was so glad she had the Doctor. She wasn't sure she'd be able to get through this without him and he was being so good about the whole domestic thing.

She began to shiver and decided she'd better get dressed. Standing up gingerly she padded over to the bathroom door and opened it heading towards her room quietly. She could hear her Mum and the Doctor talking about her in low voice and knew they were probably worrying about her.

Rose sighed and entered her room, glancing at the wardrobe and wondering whether she actually had any clothes left in there. Most of them were on board the TARDIS now and she doubted whether she'd find anything suitable in her room. Still she wanted to be alone right now so she opened the door of the wardrobe and gazed at the few items still inside.

She didn't really have any black clothes, but then she didn't want to wear black because it was too depressing. Rose sighed again and pulled out a blue hoodie and a pair of jeans that she saved for special occasion when she was getting dressed up. Not that she did that much now. She'd lost contact with most of her mates and Shareen and Keisha were only sent a fleeting text now and then.

They'd probably be at the funeral. Rose's heart ached as she thought about that. They'd been quite fond of Mickey in their own ways. They'd always thought of him as a friend rather than boy friend material because Rose had known him so long, but they'd been happy for her and got to know him when they started dating.

Rose shook her head, trying to get rid of the thoughts that seemed to be swimming round and round with no signs of being forgotten. She smoothed her clothes down and pocketed Mickey's letter, which hadn't left her side since she'd been given it. Heading out into the hallway she heard her mother still talking; only her tone made Rose stop and listen.

"Rose has never been sick like this," Jackie said in a hushed voice, staring worriedly at the Doctor. "Even when she's had bugs she's never been like this. When she was younger one of her favourite teachers died and she was upset about it for months. Her grades slipped for a while, but she wasn't as ill as this. I mean I know Mickey was closer to her, but…"

The Doctor set his cup down and put a hand on Jackie's shoulder.

"I'm sure she will be fine," the Doctor said firmly.

"Maybe I can convince her to go to the doctors when we get back," Jackie said, biting her lip. The Doctor rolled his eyes and Rose chose this moment to enter. The pair sat at the table looked up and stopped talking.

"Alright?" the Doctor asked gently. Rose nodded and tried to look like she hadn't spent another morning chucking her guts up.

"I better get ready," Jackie said standing up and walking past Rose leaving her with the Doctor in privacy for once.

"Ok, now how do you really feel?" The Doctor asked as soon as Jackie had gone.

"How do you think?" Rose said rubbing her head.

"Don't worry, it'll be over soon," the Doctor promised.

Rose and the Doctor were hovering outside the church, Jackie having already gone inside. They were waiting for everyone to sit down so they could take a seat right near the back and go unnoticed. It was the same church at which she had met her Dad, twenty years previously and somehow that made her feel worse.

Everyone began filing in and Rose followed, the Doctor behind her, hands thrust deep into the pockets of his trench coat, glasses perched on the end of his nose and a look on his face that indicated he was deep in thought.

Rose's hand slipped into the Doctor's and she gripped it tightly as they took their places right at the back. Jackie glanced at them once or twice during the service, but neither of them took much notice. The Doctor was listening intently to the service and Rose was paying no attention at all, instead allowing her thoughts to drift about all the memories she had with Mickey. Her attention was quickly caught when Mickey's Mum, who Rose had only seen in photos, previously, stepped up to say a few words.

"Mickey was my only son and was cruelly taken from this world," his Mum began, tears streaming down her face. "He was beaten to death in this very city and the person responsible has not been brought to justice. We all know who he is, because you all live in fear of him. Jimmy Stones has broken the law once to often and now my son is dead because of it. I urge you all to file any complaints you have, to bring this thug to justice, not for me, but for Mickey who had to suffer because of Jimmy."

Rose felt her heart thump faster and faster, skipping beats here and there and falling over itself. The Doctor, who had never heard of Jimmy Stones before now, noticed the sudden increase in Rose's heart rate.

"Are you ok?" The Doctor whispered. Rose glanced at him, eyes shinning, wanting to explain everything; but she didn't. She simply nodded and looked back at the next person speaking, though she took none of what was said in after that.

After the ceremony was finished and everyone had drifted home Rose walked through the cemetery to Mickey's grave, clutching the Doctor's hand as she went. The pair stood gazing at the headstone.

_Mickey Smith_

_Loved son, grandson and friend_

_He will be missed by many_

Rose sobbed as she laid a bunch of daffodils, Mickey's favourite flowers, on his newly dug grave. The Doctor squeezed her hand gently and she glanced at him.

"I miss him," she said quietly, her voice wobbling.

"I know," the Doctor replied, pushing his glasses further up his nose. "I'll miss him too."

As they walked back towards the flat Rose suddenly paused. The Doctor turned to look at her.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"I've got… got something to do," she said turning and walking a different way.

"Do you want m to come with you?" The Doctor called after her.

"Nah, I won't be long," Rose said keeping her voice steady. The Doctor hesitated, wondering whether he ought to go with Rose anyway, but then he followed Jackie guessing that wherever Rose was going was probably somewhere she used to go with Mickey.

Rose was going nowhere she and Mickey had ever hung out. No, she was set on heading to another flat in the Bucknall house. She allowed her legs to walk all the way there and pounded on the door until a very familiar person opened it.

"Rose," Jimmy Stones stared at her as she tried not to burst into tears. "Now's not really a good time…"

Rose pushed past him into the grotty flat and waited for him to follow. He looked at her as she turned to him, folding her arms.

"You killed him!" She shouted. Jimmy looked down before he answered.

"I didn't," he said calmly. "I was no where near the place at the time. But of course I have no friends, so I have no alibi."

"Liar!" Rose said, tears falling don her face. "You had to take everything I had away didn't you! Me dropping out of school wasn't enough; you had to take my money, my friends, my family, my soul!"

"Rose, I didn't kill him," Jimmy said trying to keep a distance between them. He'd seen Rose when she got angry and it wasn't pretty.

"Then who did?" Rose asked, running a hand through her hair.

"I don't know," Jimmy said quietly. "Look, I didn't have anything to do with it."

"Then why is his Mum so sure you do?" Rose asked running at him and punching every bit of him that she could reach. Of course having not been able to keep down a meal for the past four days Rose was pretty weak and her feeble punches didn't even leave a red mark.

Jimmy pushed her away and she just looked at him angrily, eyes shinning with fresh tears. He looked around awkwardly not sure of what else to say. Rose wiped her face furiously.

"I'm sorry," she said finally. "I have to go."

Jimmy looked up slightly startled. Yes, Rose had got him wrong, but he hadn't expected an apology, after all if he'd been in the same position he wouldn't have been able to do that.

Rose walked past him as he looked on in bemusement and was halfway across the court back towards her Mum's flat before Jimmy managed to spur himself into shutting the door.

The Doctor and Jackie were sat in the flat both reading, but the tension between them was so thick you could've cut it with a knife. And the Doctor had been to a planet where that was actually possible.

Rose's arrival home was a great relief for both of them and they looked up as she entered and sat next to the Doctor. The Doctor glanced at Jackie then looked back at Rose.

"Are you ok?" He asked. He really had to stop asking that, of course she wasn't ok! "Had a nice walk?"

Rose made a non committal noise which the Doctor had heard on many occasions and knew it meant 'don't ask'. So he didn't. The pair spent the evening curled up together on the sofa and didn't mention Mickey again that day.


	5. Chapter 5

Rose lay awake for a long time that night. The familiar hum of the TARDIS comforting, but not enough to lull her to sleep. She'd been thinking about why she couldn't keep her food down. Either she was very ill or… well she didn't want to think about the other option. She had enough to deal with at that precise moment.

Shrugging it off she turned over and tried to get to sleep, managing it for a few hours before waking again. In the end she got up, even though it was still dark in the TARDIS and got dressed, deciding that she'd see if, now the funeral was over, she could eat something.

Rose made it all the way to the kitchen before she had to turn around and head for the nearest bathroom. The TARDIS very kindly made sure the Doctor could not hear Rose, since the old time ship guessed Rose would prefer not to worry him.

When she finally managed to stop Rose spotted a small cupboard she hadn't noticed before. Frowning she opened it and found inside a single pregnancy test. She looked up at the TARDIS and assumed that the ship must've heard what she was thinking about it. Sighing she opened the packet and followed the instructions carefully. Two minutes later Rose looked at the test anxiously waiting for the line to appear to tell her whether or not she was pregnant.

The Doctor was in the console room tinkering when the TARDIS made an odd noise. Looking up the Doctor frowned.

"What was that for?" He asked. The TARDIS made a funny squeak in reply and the Doctor just shook his head exasperatedly. He returned to his 'fixing' wondering whether Rose was up or not. Just as the thought popped into his head Rose came into the console room.

"Hello, you're up early," the Doctor said lightly trying not to sound accusatory.

"Yeah," Rose said her voice higher than normal. The Doctor frowned.

"Something wrong?" He said watching her for a reaction carefully.

"Nope," Rose replied a little too quickly, smiling at him feebly.

Despite knowing she was lying the Doctor decided not to press the issue. Rose would tell him what was up when se was ready. He pocketed his Sonic Screwdriver and walked towards her, holding out a hand.

"Do you want to go up to the flat?" He asked gently. Rose shrugged.

"Can we go somewhere… somewhere stress free? Where I won't have Mum fretting about me or have to worry about… things…" Rose took his hand squeezing it slightly.

"Sure," the Doctor said taken aback. "Shouldn't you tell our Mum first though?"

Rose nodded and pulled out her mobile, tapping the buttons as she wrote a quick text. She pressed send and turned the mobile off so they weren't disturbed. The Doctor let go of her hand while he set the controls. Rose's now free hand rested on her stomach.

"Can you try not to make the journey too bumpy?" She asked turning green around the edges.

The Doctor nodded and the ride was much smoother than normal. Rose leant on the console as the TARDIS was bought into land. The pair headed towards the doors and opened them to step out into a vast field of green grass and wild flowers that seemed to stretch on forever.

Rose smiled, her troubles almost forgotten. Almost, but not entirely; she looked back at the Doctor.

"It's perfect," she said, more glad than she'd ever been that she'd met the Doctor.

The Doctor grinned back and took Rose's hand again. They walked along for awhile before sitting down to relax. The Doctor had to admit; even though the events of the last few days were still playing on his mind it was a lot easier to settle here.

"Thank you," Rose said as they sat next to each other.

"It's no problem," the Doctor chuckled.

"I mean for everything you've done the past few days," Rose rolled her eyes a hand subconsciously resting on her stomach again. The Doctor noted this and frowned.

"You're not feeling sick again are you?" He checked. Rose glanced down and removed her hand quickly.

"No, I'm fine," she replied. The Doctor continued to look at her worriedly.

"Maybe I should scan you when we get back," he suggested thinking that Rose would agree. It did the exact opposite.

"No! I'm fine," she insisted and though the Doctor tried again to get her to think about Rose remained adamant that she was alright.

"I'm just worried," the Doctor said when Rose folded her arms and refused to speak. She glanced at him and her expression softened.

"I know," she reached out for his hand and rubbed her thumb gently across his knuckles. She bit her lip wondering if she should tell him. "Doctor, I-"

Suddenly the familiar drill tone of the Doctor's mobile sounded and he fumbled in his pocket for it. Rose lay down groaning, it was bound to be her mother.

"It's your Mum," the Doctor said holding the phone away from his ear as the torrent shouts from Jackie Tyler sounded down it.

Rose looked over at him from her position and felt her heart sink. It was hard enough finding the words to tell the Doctor but when she had to tell her Mum about-

"ROSE TYLER! YOU ANSWER ME NOW!" Jackie screamed loud enough for Rose to hear. She held out her hand and the Doctor passed the phone over.

"Hi, Mum," Rose said as cheerfully as she could.

"Don't 'hi mum' me!" Jackie hissed. "You could've told me in person that you were going off for the afternoon. I didn't get the message until I'd spent three hours wondering where you'd gone!"

"I'm sorry, Mum," Rose said in her best 'please forgive me voice'.

"It's alright, I just worry about you," Jackie said and Rose rolled her eyes again.

"Yeah, funnily enough I've just had that conversation with the Doctor," Rose glanced at the Doctor as she said this and he tried to look innocent.

"Just… tell me in person next time, yeah?" Jackie asked.

"Yeah, sorry," Rose replied. "I'll see you later. We'll come back for tea, ok?"

"Ok," Jackie sniffed. "Will you be able to keep something down?"

"Yeah, I think so," Rose said. "Bye."

She handed the phone back to the Doctor who spoke for a few minutes to Jackie before hanging up and pocketing the mobile again.

"So what were you going to say?" He asked looking at Rose.

"When?" Rose frowned, confused.

"Before your mother interrupted," the Doctor laughed.

"Oh that," Rose turned pink. "It's nothing."

"You sure?" The Doctor picked at the grass absent mindedly.

"Yeah," Rose sat up and shuffled closer.

The pair sat in silence for a long time on the hillside, staring at the beautiful view and enjoying each others company.

Jackie was just serving up some lasagne when she heard the familiar voomsh of the TARDIS. She set the table and put the large dish in the middle, sitting to wait for the return of the Doctor and Rose.

They came up five minutes later and it was only then that Rose remembered she'd said to her Mum she could stomach tea. She paused, wondering whether she'd be able to manage it.

The Doctor rubbed her gently in the small of the back and Rose finally moved down the hall towards the table to sit with her Mum. Jackie smiled and didn't stint on her portions.

"Mum, I said I was eating, I'm not that greedy," Rose said as her Mum scooped huge spoonfuls of lasagne onto her plate.

"You haven't eaten anything for four days Rose," Jackie said, spooning some onto the Doctor's plate. "You could do with some extra."

Rose picked up her fork, very aware that the Doctor and her Mum were watching her avidly. She sighed and ate a small amount hoping that she wouldn't throw up straight away. Surprisingly she didn't and continued to eat until she was full.

Rose found that wasn't the only surprise to come. Later that evening her Mum suggested playing scrabble and the Doctor agreed. It was quite funny, the Doctor kept insisting that he could put 'Clom' and 'TARDIS' and moaned when Jackie claimed he was cheating. Rose couldn't help laughing at how ridiculous the pair were and though she still felt bad, she went to bed on a better note than she had done the previous night.

She lay awake for a while, a hand absent mindedly resting on her stomach again as she considered ways to tell the Doctor her fears. She was scared in case he'd dump her back on earth… she wasn't sure if she'd be able to cope with that.

In the end Rose decided she wasn't going to think of anything when she was tired so she went to sleep. Her dreams were strange, almost like they were memories of her the Doctor and Mickey. But they weren't, they were completely new; nothing she'd ever experienced in reality.

The next morning she got up and had breakfast without any trouble. She began to doubt if that pregnancy test had been accurate. Maybe she wasn't pregnant after all…

"So what do you fancy doing today Rose?" Asked the Doctor interrupting her thoughts.

"Ummm…" Rose looked up startled. "I was thinking we could sort through some of the photo's we've got…"

The Doctor nodded understandingly. No doubt Rose would've wanted to make sure she kept all the photos of Mickey she had somewhere safe. Somewhere she could look at them when she wanted to.

"Ok, wanna start now?" Rose nodded back and they slipped out the flat after promising Jackie that they wouldn't leave the Powell Estate.

As soon as the Doctor shut the blue TARDIS doors on the outside world Rose began once again formulating plans on how to tell him her suspicions. Despite not throwing up for almost twenty four hours she still had this feeling, deep down, that she was pregnant.

Rose didn't pay much attention when hey were sorting through the photos and she hoped the Doctor would put it down to her missing Mickey. After a few hours Rose finally decided just to come straight out and tell the Doctor, but as she opened her mouth the Doctor beat her to it.

"Look at the idiot in this photo," he chuckled showing it to Rose. Rose felt a slight sting at the 'idiot' reference.

"Don't call him that," Rose said frowning at the Doctor. "You could have a little more respect."

The Doctor looked slightly taken aback. He hadn't expected Rose to take it like that; after all it was only a nickname.

"It was only a joke-" he began.

"No, it's not," Rose stood up, sounding angrier with every word. "You know it used to annoy him and now he's dead you can't even be bothered to make the effort."

"Rose I-"

"Forget it," Rose said heading for the door and flinging it open, heading down the corridor towards the console room.

"Rose! Wait!" The Doctor called standing up and running after her.

Rose could hear his pounding footsteps and broke into a faster pace herself, opening the TARDIS doors and heading out of the Powell Estate back towards the grave yard they'd buried Mickey in.

She sat in front of his grave sobbing. How could she deal with this now? She'd just lost her oldest friend and ex boyfriend and now she found she was pregnant with the child of a nine hundred year old alien that she'd only in the past week found out loved her.

She heard someone approaching her, but didn't look up. It was only when that person sat next to her and wrapped their arms around her that she allowed herself to look at the Doctor.

"I'm sorry Rose," he said quietly, rocking her gently. "I shouldn't have said it. I guess some old habits die hard."

Rose sobbed harder, pulling the Doctor as close as she could, tears running down her face and onto his trench coat.

"I…I…I," Rose tried to say it but she just couldn't quite get the words out.

"You what?" Asked the Doctor stroking her hair.

"I'm pregnant!" She cried, unable to hold it back any longer.


	6. Chapter 6

The Doctor didn't answer for a minute. Rose was clearly very upset and he simply held her until her sobs grew softer and turned into sniffles. He pulled back slightly to look at her, wanting to make sure he'd heard her right and it wasn't just her cries making it sound different.

"You're pregnant?" The Doctor asked.

Rose nodded, wiping her face and sniffing again. She looked away picking at the wet grass they were sat on.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly. The Doctor cupped her chin making her look at him.

"You don't have to be sorry," he replied. He frowned for a moment considering the situation. "Right, first things first; Let's get you back to the TARDIS so we can do a scan and be absolutely sure that you are pregnant… then we'll talk things through from their, ok?"

Rose nodded again and the Doctor stood up, pulling Rose up with him. She stood shakily, slipping her hand into his as they walked away from Mickey's grave and back towards the cemetery gates.

When they returned to the TARDIS Rose was starting to worry again. The Doctor hadn't spoken all the way back and she had the feeling he was mad with her.

"I didn't mean to-" The Doctor held up his finger, smiling slightly.

"Rose, its fine, ok?" He said gently, continuing to lead her towards the infirmary.

He wandered over and began to set up the scan equipment. Rose stood awkwardly, pulling at her clothes, waiting for the Doctor to tell her what to do.

"Just sit there," the Doctor said pointing to what looked like a dentist chair. Rose sat in it nervously and the Doctor smiled slightly. "Don't look so worried. It's not the worst thing in the world if you're pregnant is it?"

Rose bit her lip thinking. She would've loved to have kids, but with everything that had happened, she wasn't sure how she'd cope with one now.

"My Mum will kill you," she said and the Doctor instantly paled.

"On second thoughts, yes," he looked at her desperately. "This is a bad thing for me."

He grinned to show he was joking and tapped at a few more keys on the computer he was using to set up the scan. The smile slipped from his face as the readings came up.

"Ah," he said.

"What?" Rose asked worriedly.

"Well you are pregnant," he continued.

"But?" Rose's hand flew to her stomach. "What's wrong?"

"Well, you're pregnant with twins," the Doctor wandered over to her. Rose sighed with relief.

"You scared me then," she complained. "I thought something was really wrong."

"Yeah, sorry about that," he said weakly. "But they're umm… part Gallifreyan too… which means they're going to grow a lot more quickly than human kids…"

"So how long have I got then?" Rose asked.

"About four months," the Doctor replied. "Give or take a few days."

"Right," Rose ran a hand through her hair. "Ok."

"You don't have to keep them," the Doctor said calmly despite the fact that inside he was hoping she would. He never thought he'd have the chance to have another family. It shouldn't even be possible, he thought he was infertile, but Rose appeared to have proven him wrong.

"I'm not killing them," Rose frowned at him as if he were mad.

"Didn't think you'd want to, but it's your choice," the Doctor took her hand.

"I don't know how I'm going to cope being a Mum, mind," she rubbed her thumb along one of the Doctor's hands.

"You'll be a great Mum," The Doctor grinned.

"You think?" Rose asked.

"Course," the Doctor said nodding.

"Right… well…" Rose frowned, thinking. "I suppose we ought to tell my Mum."

The Doctor paled.

"What? Right now?" He groaned as Rose nodded. "Alright. I guess we should get it over and done with."

After much dawdling and dwindling Rose finally managed to get the Doctor all the way up to the flat and inside with her mother. Jackie was chatting animatedly about nothing and anything and the Doctor was more than happy to let her carry on but Rose had other ideas.

"Mum, look, we've got something to tell you," Rose said butting in. The Doctor backed away preparing himself in case Jackie launched herself at him. "We're… we're going to go off for a few days, but we'll be back yeah?"

The Doctor sighed in confusion and Jackie looked slightly crestfallen.

"Oh ok," she said, pulling her daughter in for a hug. "Bye then love."

"Bye Mum," Rose said stepping away and dashing back out of her Mum's flat as quickly as she could without raising suspicion.

Once back in the TARDIS the Doctor looked at her with eyebrows raised.

"Bottled it did you?" He asked trying to hide the grin creeping up on his face.

"Well, we can hang on a bit," Rose said, hand flying to her stomach subconsciously. "You know, until we go and get the stuff for them and think of names and where we're going to live when I've had them…"

Rose leant against the console, hand that wasn't on her stomach running through her hair. She glanced up at the Doctor.

"We've got to start planning, especially if we've only got four months," she said.


	7. Chapter 7

Rose and the Doctor spent most of the next day deciding where exactly they were going to live. Rose had insisted that her mother would want to see her grandchildren when she found out they existed so they would have to remain in London. The Doctor didn't want to abandon the TARDIS as it was the only piece of home he had left so they agreed on living in the TARDIS but remaining parked on the Powell estate.

They were currently sat in the console room trying to decide names for their offspring and getting no where.

"What about Sophie?" Suggested the Doctor from underneath the console. He was 'fixing' something.

"Mmm," Rose flicked through the magazine she had scanning the columns for names. "I had an aunt called Sophie… she was really mean."

The Doctor rolled his eyes.

"Well if you're so fussy why don't you pick?" He asked, poking his head up through the metal grating floor. "And I put my foot down at naming them after your mother or… or any other similar person."

Rose knew he had been on the verge of saying Mickey and she nodded, not taking her eyes off the magazine.

"What about Hazel for a girl?" Rose said quickly to take her mind off the passing mention of her late friend.

The Doctor considered, his mouth moving as though he were talking to himself. He pulled himself out of the floor and sat looking at her.

"Yeah, Hazel's alright…" he said smiling slightly. "You should pick two names for both gender's, depending on what we get."

Rose nodded and returned to the glossy mag, flicking past a few pages or ads and scaning another article.

"Polly?" She asked.

"Too nursey," the Doctor replied wrinkling his nose.

"Danielle?"

"Too chavy."

"Sarah?"

"Too scary."

"Too scary?" Rose frowned at him. "How is Sarah too scary?"

"I used to know a Sarah, not Sarah Jane Smith, a different Sarah," the Doctor began to ramble. "She used to have a right temper on her. One minute we'd be talking about where our next adventure was going to be the next she'd be chucking things at my head. I used to dread thinking about when I'd leave her, but in the end she left me to go and get married."

Rose tried to stifle her giggles but failed miserably and they echoed round the inside of the TARDIS.

"It's not funny," the Doctor said looking at her with big puppy dog eyes.

"Sorry," she said between laughs. "What about Freya?"

"Yeah that's alright," the Doctor ducked back under the floor. "For a boy I was thinking maybe something like Elliot."

"You a fan of E.T.?" Rose grinned, her face showing signs of bursting into laughter again.

"No, I just like the name," the Doctor's muffled voice floated up from somewhere down below.

Rose stood up and stretched wandering over to the whole in the floor and sitting beside it so she could hear the Doctor better.

"I like it too," she replied. "Ok, so we just need one more."

"David?"

"Nah, it'll just remind me of the evil boy from Corrie," Rose said, crossing her legs.

"Nathanial?"

"Uhhh too Suppernanny," Rose shuddered.

"You, Rose Tyler, watch way too much T.V.," the Doctor scoffed sticking the Sonic Screwdriver in his mouth. "Wha 'bout ke or hilli?"

"What?" Rose frowned disgusted that the Doctor was trying again to talk with his mouth full.

"What about Luke or Phillip?" The Doctor asked again, removing the Screwdriver from his mouth.

"I quite like Luke," Rose said nodding.

They petered off into silence for a few minutes both thinking about the children they were going to have and all the things they still had to do.

"We should really go shopping for baby stuff," Rose said suddenly.

"Rose, we've known about the twins for a day and you already want to buy stuff for them?" The Doctor stuck his head up again and looked at her oddly.

"If we've only go four months then in about two months I'm not going to be able to get about am I?" Rose said, one hand on her stomach.

The Doctor pulled himself right up out of the hole and put the grating of the floor back. He sat down next to Rose and took the hand that wasn't on her stomach.

"It'll be fine ok?" He said reassuringly. "I'll take you to get the stuff after we've told you're mother. She might want to come with you, human domestic thing that shopping is."

Rose smiled slightly.

"I suppose this means I've got to tell her soon then?" The Doctor nodded and Rose looked slightly downcast.

"I'll help explain too," he assured her.


	8. Chapter 8

"Jackie, let me explain!" The Doctor almost begged, making sure he was out of slapping reach of Jackie Tyler as she stormed about the flat.

"Explain what? I understand perfectly what's going on!" Jackie shouted back. Rose was sat on the sofa, her hair messed up from running her fingers through it once too often. She had a bad headache now, and regretted telling her mother right then.

It had been a few days since they'd come up with names and the Doctor was starting to get edgy, said he needed to go for an adventure. Rose had decided that if they went they might not come back, so she put her foot down and refused to leave until they'd told her mother.

She felt worse now than she had done when she'd been keeping the twins a secret. Her mother had reacted predictably, exploding the moment Rose mentioned the words 'Me', 'Doctor' and 'pregnant' in the same sentence.

"You swan in here, seduce my daughter, persuade her to go off with you and get here pregnant!" Jackie picked up a very heavy looking book and the Doctor's eyes widened like a rabbit caught in headlights. "She's just lost her ex and what was once her best friend for god's sake!"

The Doctor glared at her then. Death was not a good thing to use against the Doctor; he knew only too well what it felt like to lose everything.

"I know," he said dangerously. "I know exactly what Rose has just gone through, and I know exactly how scared she is. I know that she shouldn't even be in this position, but she is, and I can't change that. She can if she wants to, but it's her choice."

Jackie looked over expectantly at her daughter and Rose suddenly realised what the Doctor meant. She shot her mother a disgusted look.

"I am _not_ getting rid of them," she said ferociously, devastated that her mum could even consider such a thing.

"I know," Jackie said sighing. "You'll be exactly like me, single mum, with a fiery temper."

"I'm not a single mother, Mum!" Rose said angrily. "In case you hadn't noticed the father is still present!"

Jackie looked the Doctor up and down slightly suspiciously.

"So you're not just planning to dump her back here then?" She asked.

"MUM!" Rose almost exploded herself then. "I can't believe you think the Doctor would abandon us!"

She stormed off to her room, slamming the door and causing the Doctor to wince. He took another step back when Jackie turned back to him, fury written over her face.

"Jackie, I'm not going anywhere," the Doctor said calmly. "I lost my whole family in the Time War, I'm not about to lose another. I will support Rose as long as she wants me there."

Jackie softened slightly, collapsing on the sofa and rubbing her face with her hands. She looked like she was going to burst into tears, but when her hands fell to her lap the Doctor could see she was more ashamed then upset.

"I know, I'm sorry," Jackie shook her head. "I just didn't expect my only child to end up having kids by an alien aged just twenty."

The Doctor slowly put his hands in his pockets and wandered over, stopping in front of Jackie.

"Yeah, it's not exactly the sort of thing you think will happen, is it?" The Doctor said quietly.

"Rose has never been someone you could predict though," Jackie continued. The Doctor sat next to her carefully. "Since the age of ten she's been surprising me with all sorts of things, and I know most of them aren't that bad, but I'm just scared that the next time something happens it'll be something really bad."

"I won't let that happen," the Doctor said firmly. Jackie looked at him.

"You're a good man, Doctor," she said, smiling wryly. "But don't think that means I'm going to forgive you for making me a grandmother at thirty eight."

"You're thirty eight?" The Doctor asked, sounding surprised. He suddenly realised what a bad move that was when he received a slap of Jackie Tyler.

Rose lay on her bed, facing the window, watching birds fly past. She couldn't take her mother arguing with the Doctor. It had been shock enough to find out she was pregnant, but for her mum to practically disown her would be too much. Her hand was once more on her stomach, the realisation of what was happening only just sinking in.

She could feel fear in the pit of her stomach bubbling up like a volcano, ready to erupt at any moment. How could she cope being a Mum at twenty? With kids that were likely to be part alien? It was an increasingly scary prospect.

Someone knocked on the door and opened it when Rose didn't answer. She heard the certain someone pad across the room and sit behind her on the bed. Judging by the footfalls she guessed it was the Doctor.

"I think your Mum feels a bit bad," she was right, it was the Doctor. She still didn't answer though. She wasn't in the mood for talking; of course the threat of throwing up if she opened her mouth helped. "She was just scared for you, you know."

Rose shifted slightly, but made no other sign that she was actually listening to him. The Doctor sighed, stood up and wandered round to the side of the bed that Rose was facing. He sat back down, resting one hand on her side.

"You ok?" He asked concern etched over his face.

Rose finally looked at him and nodded mutely. To be truthful she wasn't. She wanted to be alone, but at the same time she didn't want the Doctor to leave. She felt ill and scared and she wanted to just sleep and pretend things weren't happening for a bit.

"You know, I meant what I said," the Doctor continued quietly. "I won't leave you, I'll always be here, but if you didn't… if you changed your mind and decided you didn't want to have a family… it would be ok… as long as you tell me… I just wan to help."

Rose felt her heart ache then. She could hear the pain in the Doctor's voice as he spoke about losing another family. She couldn't do that to him, she couldn't do that to herself and she certainly couldn't do that to her children.

"Of course I want this family," she whispered finally, sitting up. The Doctor smiled and Rose wrapped her arms round his neck, hugging him tightly.


	9. Chapter 9

Rose sat on one of the swings in the park just round the corner from the Powell Estate, thinking. It was five in the morning and the sun had not long crept up over the horizon. She shouldn't be out here, she'd sneaked out without telling the Doctor or her Mum were she was going. She'd just needed to get out for a bit.

The problem was, since finding out that her daughter was pregnant, Jackie Tyler had become extremely protective. Or at least that's what she called it. Rose called it smothering and the Doctor… well the Doctor called it something in ancient Gallifreyan that the TARDIS didn't deign to translate.

Rose found that by telling her mother, rather than escaping the worry of keeping the twins a secret, she had simply entered a new found worry as her mother refused to let her forget.

She sighed, one hand on her stomach, the other resting in her lap as she swung gently, forwards and backwards. Even when she was alone she couldn't forget and in less than four months…

"Alright?" Asked a voice from behind her.

Rose turned half expecting it to be Mickey, but it was the Doctor, long brown trench coat, whipping behind him in the wind, his glasses perched on the end of his nose.

"I'm fine," Rose said sarcastically.

"Ah, sorry," the Doctor sat on the swing next to her. "Mother getting to you?"

"You can say that again," she said scuffing her feet on the floor.

"We can always… disappear," the Doctor suggested lightly. "Be back before your mother knows."

Rose glanced at the Doctor smiling wryly.

"What if we never came back?" She asked.

"Well, that wouldn't be so bad," the Doctor said avoiding her gaze.

"Not for us," Rose agreed. "But Mum would miss us, and she'll want to see her grandkids."

"Oh, yeah," the Doctor sighed, making Rose giggle.

"It would be good to get away though," Rose said standing up. The Doctor followed suit and took Rose's hand in his.

"Barcelona?" He asked.

"I was thinking somewhere quiet," Rose said remembering the last time they'd visited Barcelona. The dogs hadn't been as friendly as the Doctor remembered.

"Maybe…" the Doctor pondered. "I think I've got just the place."

"Where?" Rose asked dubiously, but the Doctor just grinned and pulled her out of the park towards the TARDIS. "Don't give me that look! I want to know!"

"Somewhere you'll like I promise," the Doctor said earnestly and Rose allowed herself to be pulled along, his trusting voice irresistible.

They stepped inside the TARDIS and the Doctor bounded over to the console, setting the controls. Rose stood to one side, a hand on her stomach, the other hanging limply by her side.

"It's not got dogs has it?" Rose took a few steps towards the console, leaning on it.

"No, it's uninhabited," the Doctor said. "At least it was."

"Was?" Rose's eyes widened.

The TARDIS jerked and Rose almost fell over. The Doctor caught her before she got anywhere close to the floor and held onto her tightly.

"Is," he said firmly.

Rose nodded, suddenly feeling light headed. She leant against the console again. The Doctor frowned at her worriedly.

"Are you ok?" He asked, one hand cupping her cheek, making her look up at him.

"Yeah," Rose said her eyes not quite meeting his.

"Rose," the Doctor said, his tone soft. "Are you ok?"

"No," Rose managed to say just before she collapsed into the Doctor's arms.

The Doctor scooped her up worriedly and took her straight to the infirmary. He laid her on one of the beds and started a scan, to check she was ok. The scan came back fine and he returned to Rose's bedside. He gently stroked her face, tucking a strand of hair behind her ear.

"Rose?" His worried voice seemed to stir something in her mind because she wriggled and groaned.

"My head is killing me," she mumbled.

"I think the twins are having a bit of a strong effect on your human body," the Doctor said quietly. "Sorry about that."

"Can you make it stop?" She asked, rubbing her head and writhing still.

"I can try," the Doctor said, returning to the scan equipment.

"Try?" Rose opened one eye to watch him.

"Well you can't have penicillin in case it hurts the twins," the Doctor said tapping at the keys. "But this might work."

He went to one of the medicine cabinets in the room and took out a yellow liquid. He walked back to Rose and handed it to her.

"I've got to drink that?" She asked.

"Yeah, sorry," the Doctor mumbled.

"Ok," Rose said sitting up slightly and taking the mixture, holding her nose as she drank it. "Oh I'm gonna be sick."

The Doctor handed Rose a bucket just in time and rubbed her back sympathetically. Rose glanced at him mournfully.

"I'm not very good at this," the Doctor sighed. "Sorry, I'm not used to the human thing.


	10. Chapter 10

The Doctor was worried about Rose. He was hiding it because he didn't want Rose to worry, but he wasn't sure how long he could keep up the pretence. The thing was, Rose was a human, pregnant with two part Gallifreyan children and he wasn't sure if Rose would be able to cope.

He knew Rose would be fine once they were born, but it was the pregnancy itself that was going to be complicated. The Doctor didn't know how well her body would deal with two aliens growing inside her.

His own mother had suffered badly when she was pregnant with him and that had been one child and they were on Gallifrey at the time.

He stood watching Rose as Jackie Tyler fussed over her. Part of him knew that Rose had probably guessed there would be complications. Jackie Tyler would no doubt be one of them.

She'd called not long after they left in the TARDIS demanding they return home immediately. Rose hadn't argued, she knew it would only be worse if she did. So now they were hear, Jackie was giving the Doctor a lecture about running off with her daughter, and giving Rose a lecture about running off willingly.

The Doctor could easily tune out Jackie's ranting but Rose couldn't. She looked worse by the minute and the Doctor knew he'd have to step in soon.

"-You could've hurt yourself, or them!" Jackie shouted.

"Jackie," the Doctor said quickly as she took a breath. "I don't think Rose is very well. She's home and safe why don't you let her lie down?"

Rose looked at him gratefully, standing up and heading for her room, running a hand through her hair as she went.

"You're going to kill me, running off all the time!" Jackie said turning to the Doctor to start on him again.

"Jackie, let it go," the Doctor said. "Rose will be fine. Do you really think I'm going to be so reckless with the one person who's given me a second chance of a family?"

Jackie sat down and sighed.

"No, I suppose not," she agreed. "I just worry."

"I know, so do I," the Doctor replied smiling slightly as he stuffed his hands in his pockets. He sat down next to Jackie and wondered if Rose was ok.

Rose was lying on her bed trying not to cry. Her head was pounding and she felt sick again. She'd thought it would be exciting, scary, but exciting when she had her first kids. But this was turning out to be one of the worst experiences she'd had.

She only hoped the twins would be alright. Maybe once they were born things would be a bit better. She wouldn't feel ill for starters.

The first month was defiantly the worst. The morning sickness still lingered despite the Doctor's best efforts to help her. Her mother didn't make the situation any easier either. She fussed and wouldn't let Rose go out of the flat alone.

The Doctor tried on many occasions to sneak her out but Jackie made sure she kept an extra close eye on the pair of them. The Doctor found this very hard to deal with. He got itchy feet very quickly, but didn't want to leave Rose.

Rose's family also started asking questions when Jackie told them she was pregnant. After all, they had to avoid visits because of the short pregnancy. All in all, Rose thought it would've been better to wait until she'd given birth to tell anyone and then make something up about her being at risk of losing them and not wanting to tell anyone until they were positive they were going to survive. But no, Jackie had to be awkward.

She got steadily worse as Rose developed a bump. It was like Jackie was the one having kids. She went out constantly and bought stuff (using the Doctor's credit card) and would show it to Rose who just shot a look at the Doctor. The Doctor would then take this stuff back when Jackie wasn't looking and swap it for something Rose approved of.

Jackie also fretted constantly about the fact that Rose couldn't go to a hospital for a check up. The Doctor had assured Jackie that the TARDIS kept a constant eye on Rose and it wasn't entirely a lie. The TARDIS was indeed monitoring Rose, but the Doctor had also performed several manual scan for Rose's sake. They'd decided to conveniently forget to mention this to her mother though.

Rose found it harder and harder to sleep and most nights she spent staring at the ceiling until the Doctor came calling. Then they'd lay awake together, talking.

One night, Rose had not long gone to bed when the Doctor tapped on her bedroom door. She smiled at him and shuffled over so he had room to climb in next to her. He wrapped one arm around her, his hand resting on her stomach.

"I'm going to kill my mother," Rose whispered as she moulded against the Doctor.

"I wouldn't advise it in your condition," the Doctor replied. "Besides I'm going to get there first."

Rose giggled sleepily.

"She means well though," She continued, rubbing her fingers across the Doctor's hand.

"I'd hate to see her when she means bad then," the Doctor said shuddering. He knew only too well just how hard that woman could slap.

"I love you," Rose said after a minute.

"I love you too," the Doctor sighed. "You know, you're coping extremely well considering."

"I've had to put up with my mother my whole life," Rose turned over to look at the Doctor. "I'm used to it."

"I was talking about the pregnancy," the Doctor said, resting his arm on her side.

"I know," Rose giggled again.

"Ooo, Rose Tyler," the Doctor raised one eyebrow. "You are mean."

"And you love it," Rose replied just as suggestively.


	11. Chapter 11

When Rose was two a half months (or six and half months in normal terms) she started to feel bad. The Doctor knew that the strain of carrying two alien children was starting to show, but he had yet to broach the subject with Rose.

He was worried that Rose might think he was fussing over nothing, especially since she was trying hard not to seem ill or tired. The Doctor knew he couldn't leave it much longer though; Jackie was starting to get suspicious. So in the end the Doctor crept into her room one night with the intention of talking to Rose about the situation properly.

"Rose?" He whispered. There was no response and when the Doctor wandered over to the bed, he found it empty. Worried he turned, looking round. "Rose?"

"What?" The door to Rose's room opened and Rose herself was stood in the doorway, looking pale, cradling her bump under her pyjamas.

"What were you doing?" The Doctor asked as Rose wandered over and climbed into bed.

"Throwing up," she replied, sounding weak. The Doctor climbed in next to her, wrapping an arm round her.

"You alright?" He murmured quietly.

"No," Rose turned to look at him, tears pouring down her face. "Help me."

The Doctor's hearts ached and he reached up a hand to Rose's face, cupping her cheek gently.

"I didn't realise how badly your body was going to cope," the Doctor whispered. "Sorry… we might… we might have to induce labour."

Inside the Doctor's instincts were telling him no. The babies were well past the danger zone it was true, but Gallifreyan kids were different. They were about to be born on a hostile planet to a mother ho wasn't ready to have them… there was going to be a lot of risks.

"They'll be alright won't they?" Rose sobbed slightly, her hand flying protectively to her bump.

"Of course," the Doctor said, but his eyes told her differently.

"Will they though?" She stared him straight in the eye.

"I think they will," the Doctor tried to sound convincing.

"Doctor!"

"Well there's bound to be complications!" The Doctor said frowning.

"Yeah, but you were going to lie," Rose wiped her face, turning onto her back and looking at her bump. "I can't have them early if there's a chance I'll lose them."

"Rose," the Doctor ran a hand through his hair. "If you don't risk having them now, all three of you might die."

Rose glared at him.

"They're my kids," she hissed, sounding harsher than she intended.

"Yeah, and they're mine too!" The Doctor shot back annoyed. "I don't feel like risking losing another family if it's all the same to you."

"And you don't have a choice," Rose snapped turning over. The Doctor sighed, staring at the ceiling. He could feel the anger practically radiating off Rose and knew it wasn't doing the twins any favours.

"Rose, just because I'm not the one carrying them doesn't mean I don't know what you're feeling," he said quietly after a minute.

Rose didn't answer, but the Doctor knew she was awake and listening.

"Please think about it," he begged. "There'd be at least an eighty percent chance that all three of you would make it if you had them now."

Still no reply.

Rose was staring at the wall trying to ignore the note of hurt in the Doctor's voice. It was harder than she thought it would b. The problem was being pregnant was making her extra emotional (which she'd expected), but it was heightened due to the fact her kids were part Gallifreyan.

This was making her more attached to them than was necessary. She knew the Doctor was probably right, she couldn't go on like this, the stress alone was enough to make her feel bad. Part of her wanted to turn over and tell the Doctor that she was sorry, that she'd think about it, but she didn't.

The both lay awake for a long time and in the end it was the Doctor who made the first move, wrapping an arm gently round her. Rose didn't protest, instead she pulled the Doctor closer, rubbing her thumb across the back of his hand which was resting on her stomach.

"I'm just worried," the Doctor whispered.

"I know," Rose replied finally. "But I have to hold on a bit longer."

The Doctor frowned slightly.

"Have to?" He asked carefully.

Rose bit her lip wondering whether she ought to actually tell the Doctor what she knew. In the end she decided it was the only way to get him to understand properly.

"Would you believe anything I told you? Even if I sounded mad and didn't quite believe it myself?" She listened carefully, almost able to hear him frown.

"Yes," he said firmly.

"So if I told you that I could see stuff before it happened, like you can, you'd believe me?" Rose felt the Doctor shift slightly.

"Yeah," he said carefully. "Why, what have you seen?"

"They showed me what'll happen…" Rose paused, then turned over to face the Doctor. "They've shown me loads of stuff that hasn't happened… and they know I can't cope. But they made me promise to wait until the last possible minute to have them."

"Why?"

"Because if you're busy with me, you won't notice what's happening around us," Rose said locking eyes with the Doctor.

"What's going to happen? What did they show you?" The Doctor was starting to get very worried now. Rose grinned almost manically and the Doctor would've been freaked out if he didn't recognise it as the smile he gave every time he sensed danger.

"They showed me that something's coming," Rose replied. "And we've got to stop it."


	12. Chapter 12

The next day, the Doctor was more on edge than usual. He spent the entire morning scanning the news channels in case there was any sign of an alien invasion. He also kept an extra beady eye on Rose in case her condition deteriorated.

Rose however looked a lot better. She was rushing about helping her mother, despite Jackie's protests and was acting slightly hyper. In fact, Rose was acting the way the Doctor did when he'd been eating too many rhubarb sticks.

After their conversation the night before the Doctor had been unable to get another coherent sentence out of Rose. The effects of pregnancy was starting to effect her rather badly now and if some kind of alien invasion didn't happen soon the Doctor was going to have no choice but to induce labour.

The Doctor flicked channels once more looking for something, anything unusual, but there weren't even any stories of murders, normal or not. Rose fluttered behind him tidying up and it was starting to get on his nerves. In the end he turned round frowning.

"Rose, why don't you have a rest?" He suggested. Rose paused long enough to shake her head before continuing her organisation of the room. The Doctor's frowned deepened. "Rose? Come here."

Rose stopped and turned to the Doctor.

"What?" She asked sounding distracted.

The Doctor stood up and cupped Rose's cheek with his hand looking at her carefully.

"What's the speed of light?" He asked slowly.

"Two hundred and ninety nine million, seven hundred and ninety two thousand, four hundred and fifty eight meters per second," Rose replied without hesitation. The Doctor's hand dropped to his side and Rose continued sorting the objects in the room into order of their creation.

Jackie looked through the serving hatch from the kitchen where she was making a cup of tea. She frowned questioningly at the Doctor and he wandered in to talk with her privately.

"She and the twins are stressed," the Doctor said by way of explanation.

"And this explains her intelligence skyrocketing how?" Jackie asked.

"It's a Gallifreyan thing," the Doctor shrugged.

"Are you constantly stressed then?" Jackie shot a sideways glance at the Doctor. The Doctor pulled a face when Jackie looked back at Rose.

"No," the Doctor muttered. "When I stress I start rambling. It's different for every Gallifreyan."

"But she's human," Jackie pointed out.

"And channelling the thoughts of two part Gallifreyan kids," the Doctor resisted the urge to add 'keep up, woman'.

"She's going to work herself into an early grave though," Jackie sounded truly worried now. "Can't you stop her?"

"It's better to let her get it out of her system," the Doctor admitted. "But I'm working on it."

He had very conveniently forgotten to mention the fact that the twins might have to be born slightly earlier than normal. He decided Jackie would probably throw more than a few punches if he so much as suggested putting Rose and the twin's lives on the line.

So the Doctor sat back over the next few days, finding it easy to work around Rose's developing habits as they waited for any sign of aliens. But when none came the Doctor started to worry. Maybe what Rose had seen wasn't what she thought it was. For all he knew he was looking for the wrong threat.

He still ended up in Rose's bed every night, but she didn't talk of what she'd said again. She'd started murmuring under her breath, different equations that the Doctor could barely keep up with. It was really starting to worry him, but whenever he tried to talk to Rose she simply looked spaced out wouldn't answer.

The Doctor couldn't let it go on much longer. He made a mental note to give Rose until he end of the week to return to her right state of mind or he'd induce labour. She was roughly seven and half months pregnant now and it should be almost one hundred percent likely to survive.

On Sunday morning the Doctor woke alone and shot out of bed looking for Rose. She wasn't in her room so he went out into the flat. He sighed when he finally found her sat on the living room floor drawing, her hair tucked behind her ears.

He sat beside her examining the pictures and frowned slightly. Rose shouldn't even know where this was let alone what anything looked like. She had drawn numerous, extremely good, pictures of places on Gallifrey.

"Rose?" The Doctor asked carefully. She looked up at him. "Do you know what these drawings are off?"

"Gallifrey," Rose replied turning back to her current picture.

"Yeah," the Doctor nodded. "How do you know what any of this looks like?"

"The twins showed me," Rose mumbled not looking up this time.

"Rose," the Doctor looked at her worriedly. "I think we should induce labour."

"Not yet," Rose said a hint of desperation in her voice as her eyes locked with his. "Please, just a bit longer."

"Rose, you're channelling their thoughts," the Doctor murmured. "How long has it been since you were in control of your body?"

Rose lost it then. She burst into tears and the Doctor pulled her into his arms. Somehow he suspected things were just a bit too much for his human companion.

"I ache all over," she sobbed. "I feel so sick. It made things easier to let them take control. They were stressed too but if I didn't have to think I didn't have to feel."

"Rose, they're kids," the Doctor said. "This time the only thing they did was rearrange the furniture but you could've got really hurt."

"I know, but they don't want to leave," Rose wiped her face. "They're scared, Doctor."

"They're bound to be," the Doctor laughed slightly. "You're scared. They feel exactly what you do."

"They didn't show me an threat," Rose admitted suddenly. "I'm just too scared to let them go…"

"But?" the Doctor asked sure that Rose hadn't finished her sentence.

"But I can't take this anymore," she replied looking up at him. "I can't live like this. I want to be able to hold them without feeling so ill."


	13. Chapter 13

The Doctor and Rose slipped out of the flat later in the morning claiming that they were going to the TARDIS to sort out some things. Jackie had threatened to murder the Doctor through all his remaining regenerations if he even so much as thought of taking off and it took the Doctor a lot of persuading before Jackie believed he wouldn't.

Rose managed to make it to the TARDIS and the infirmary before she started showing the signs of illness again. She slumped on one of the beds and the Doctor set about inducing labour.

"Scared?" He asked Rose as he fiddled with different controls.

"Yup," Rose said glancing over at him. "You?"

"More than I have ever been before," the Doctor admitted grinning.

Rose felt the first few tears fall down her face then and she sobbed. The Doctor looked up frowning and wandered over to her.

"Hey," he said, reaching out for her hand. "It'll be fine."

"I know," she said smiling slightly. "I'm just being silly."

The Doctor squeezed her hand briefly before returning to the computer in one corner.

"It shouldn't hurt, but being human you are awkward so just le me know if it does ok?" The Doctor said and Rose nodded, but fortunately it was painless whatever he did. "Ok, now we've just got to wait."

Rose gasped slightly.

"Contraction?" The Doctor asked. Rose nodded again and as soon as he was beside her she grasped his hand.

"Don't leave me ok?" She whispered.

"Like I would," the Doctor said smiling. "But don't tae forever will you? I hate long labours."

"Charming!" Rose said laughing slightly.

Back in the flat Jackie was already starting to get edgy. They'd only been gone twenty minutes but she was really worried. She decided she'd leave it for another hour before she went looking. Then again maybe only forty minutes. Or half an hour. Jackie stared out the window at the TARDIS hoping that her daughter was all right.

She knew that she was smothering her daughter and she knew she was being way to harsh on the Doctor at times, but how could she not fret? After all her pregnancy had hardly been an easy one and she'd hate for Rose to have to suffer alone.

Suffering Rose was, but alone she was not. The Doctor remained by her side his hand numb since Rose had stopped the blood from circulating by squeezing it so tightly.

"Sorry," Rose said noticing the purple colour the Doctor's hand had turned. He smiled slightly.

"S'alright," he said flexing the fingers and groaning. "Ok, maybe not. It'll be fine in a minute."

Rose rolled her eyes, whilst the contractions weren't that painful yet; she could do without the Doctor's feeble attempts at jokes.

"You realise of course when we turn up with to children your mother is actually going to kill me," the Doctor said making Rose smile.

"Yup," she giggled.

"Oh gee thanks for your support," the Doctor moaned. "Don't worry I'm only the father of your kids, obviously nothing more."

Rose reached a hand up to the Doctor's face, stroking his cheek gently.

"Course you're more than that," she said quietly. "You're also the person who's going to get up with them six times a night and change their nappies."

"Oh no I'm not!" The Doctor squeaked firmly. "That's your job missus."

"And why would that be?" Rose asked trying to scowl and failing.

"Because I don't do domestic!" The Doctor said trying to keep a straight face and failing. The pair both burst out laughing.

Jackie started pacing the flat. She was trying to think of something they could be doing that could take this long. Sorting out sleeping arrangements for the twins? Maybe… After much pacing she could take it no longer and headed out onto the balcony and towards the stairs.

As she walked slowly down the stairs she wondered if maybe she was overreacting just a little bit. When the TARDIS swam into view when she stepped out into the courtyard though she knew she couldn't turn back. She had to put her mind to rest.

Of course when she wandered over and found the TARDIS doors locked she began to worry. She knocked loudly.

"Doctor!" She called.

Inside the Doctor sat up a little straighter, frowning slightly. Rose looked at him concerned.

"What?" She asked.

"I think your mother's at the door," he said getting up. "Hang on, I'll only be a minute."

The Doctor wandered down the corridors towards the console room and checked the scanner. Yup, defiantly Jackie Tyler. He walked over to the doors and opened them a crack.

"Hello Jackie," he said brightly. "What can I do for you?"

"Is Rose alright?" She asked craning her neck to see past him. "Perfectly. She's just on the loo. We'll be up soon though, ok?"

Jackie looked at him unconvinced but nodded and headed back the way she'd come towards her flat.

The Doctor sighed with relief and shut the doors again leaning against them for a moment before running back to Rose. She was sat up a little straighter panting.

"I think they're coming," she said between breaths.


	14. Chapter 14

The Doctor contemplated once more just how much Jackie was going to hurt him when she found out that Rose had had the twins. But then the thought of two beautiful kids came into the Doctor's head and he realised it would all be worth it.

Rose, surprisingly, didn't find it as painful as she thought it was going to be. She had the feeling the Doctor might've had something to do with it.

"How long have we got before Mum comes calling again?" Rose asked, wincing slightly as she moved.

"About two hours, if that," the Doctor replied, squeezing her hand gently.

"Ok," Rose nodded. "Ahh… I should think two hours will be enough."

"Ok, I'm gonna need my hand back," the Doctor said. Rose let him go and he moved to the end of the bed. "Ok, ready?"

"Ready," Rose said, gripping the bed.

"Push," the Doctor smiled slightly.

Rose pushed, but suddenly felt light headed. She tried to shake off the feeling but it only increased and she went dizzy. The last thing she saw before she passed out was a worried looking Doctor.

Rose finally awoke several hours later alone in her room in her Mum's flat. Glancing down she realised her pregnancy bump was gone. Feeling slightly worried she got up and wandered over to the door, opening it.

"Doctor?" She called.

"Hello! You're awake," the Doctor said popping his head round the corner.

"Where are..?" Rose began but the Doctor walked towards her then, holding a small bundle in his arms.

"The kids?" He asked handing over the child in his arms.

"Yeah," Rose said taking what she knew instantly was a baby boy.

"Jackie's got our daughter," the Doctor said grinning as Rose cuddled her new son.

"Oh," Rose looked up and noticed for the first time the bright red mark on the Doctor's cheek. "She was mad then?"

"Mad is one word you could use," the Doctor nodded rubbing his face. "Furious, livid and very annoyed are others you might also use."

Rose pulled a face.

"Sorry," she said. She glanced down at the baby in her arms again. "He's perfect though."

"Worth the slaps from your mother certainly," the Doctor agreed.

Rose and the Doctor wandered towards the living room to find Jackie holding a tiny baby girl, wrapped in a blanket. Rose had to bite her lip to stop herself cooing. The Doctor sat down and Rose followed suite, the Doctor wrapping his arm round her waist.

"Feeling better?" Jackie asked handing over the baby to the Doctor.

"Yeah," Rose said smiling. "Any chance of a cuppa?"

Jackie stood up and wandered into the kitchen to make the tea. Rose turned to look at the Doctor frowning slightly.

"What happened?" She asked quietly.

"I think the kids wanted to help you cope," the Doctor replied. "Sorry, I didn't know it was going to happen."

"S'alright," Rose said quickly. "I just wondered."

"Your mother was convinced I'd hurt you," the Doctor grinned. "Almost killed me when I came up to the flat holding the twins without you."

"Ah," Rose giggled. "You realise of course that she's going to be ten times more protective now she's got grand kids?"

"Yup," the Doctor said kissing Rose's head. "And I wouldn't have it any other way."

Later that evening Rose and the Doctor had returned to the TARDIS with the twins. They'd explained to Jackie that it would be better for the twins if they and their parents slept in the TARDIS.

It wasn't entirely untruthful, it would be better for them, but mostly because they wouldn't have to worry about Jackie coming to check on them every few minutes.

The thing was they didn't sleep. Rose simply couldn't. She sat on her bed staring at her sleeping children in their cot. The Doctor had tried to make her rest, but she was terrified of something happening to them.

"You can't stay awake forever," the Doctor told her gently, sitting beside her on the bed. Rose leant against him.

"I know," she moaned. "But what if they start crying and I don't wake up?"

"Rose, believe me if they so much as sniffle you'll wake up," the Doctor said, pulling her close. "The bond between mother and child is unbelievably strong. If they wanted you, you'd know."

Rose looked at the Doctor, really wanting to believe him, but something inside her still doubted him.

"Come on," he said moving into the bed properly. "If you're really worried, I'll stay up. I hardly sleep anyway."

"Ok," Rose finally gave in, pulling the covers over her as she lay down. She still lay facing the cots, and the Doctor wrapped his arm round her waist hoping she'd be ok. Sometimes he wondered whether the Gallifreyan side of things was a bit too much for Rose.


	15. Chapter 15

The first few days were the hardest for Rose. She hardly ever put the twins down and when she did she couldn't settle to anything. The Doctor tried to get her to eat and sleep, but he didn't get very far. He even went as far to promise that he would hold the twins and stay in the same room if Rose just slept for a bit, but it didn't work.

"Rose, please," the Doctor said one day when Rose was sat on the chair in the console room, holding her daughter and looking like she was about to collapse.

"I've tried!" Rose moaned looking at him through dark rimmed eyes. "I just can't sleep."

The Doctor sighed leaning against the console and cradling his son. At the rate she was going Rose was going to kill herself and the Doctor knew he had to do something.

"Why don't we take them to Jackie for a bit?" The Doctor suggested.

Rose shook her head and the Doctor knew he had no choice. Walking slowly he headed for the door to the TARDIS depths.

"I'm going to put him down to sleep," he mumbled over his shoulder. "Come on, they might as well both get some rest."

Rose nodded, too weak to protest. She followed the Doctor to their room and they put the twins in their cots. The Doctor then produced a drink of tea, seemingly from nowhere. He handed it to Rose.

"Here, have this," he said gently.

Rose took the tea without any qualms and drank it in one go. The Doctor stood waiting and sure enough Rose collapsed straight into his arms. Scooping her up, the Doctor tucked her into the bed.

"Sorry, Rose," he said quietly. "But the kids need their mother fit and healthy."

Rose had been so tired over the past few days that they hadn't even decided on the names for the twins yet. The Doctor, who could cope with being a Dad (just), having been one before, was still finding it stressful worrying about the twins and Rose.

So when the Doctor finally had all three asleep, he really didn't know what to do. He could try fixing the TARDIS but he'd fixed everything whilst Rose was pregnant. So he took the opportunity to nip up to Jackie's flat and ask something he thought he'd never ask.

"I need your help," he said as soon as Jackie opened.

"With what?" Jackie asked letting the Doctor in.

"Rose is working herself into an early grave and she really needs to eat and sleep," the Doctor continued. "She won't trust me to stay with the twins while she does stuff so I was wondering if you could try?"

"What do you mean 'she doesn't trust you'?" Jackie frowned.

"It's a maternal thing," the Doctor said waving his hand. "I just thought with you being her mother she might be more willing to let you look after them."

"Well, yeah, I'll take the twins for a bit," Jackie nodded. "Is Rose alright though?"

"Yeah," the Doctor said quickly. "Just a bit run down."

"Ok," Jackie raised an eyebrow unconvinced.

"I'll just fetch the twins," the Doctor sped off to the ARDIS before Jackie decided to come and check on Rose.

Rose awoke a few hours later feeling a lot better than she had done in ages. When she remembered that she was a mother though she sat bolt upright glancing over at the now empty cots.

She was just about to jump out of bed when someone caught her wrist. Turning she saw the Doctor sat next to her.

"Don't panic," he said quietly. "They're with your mother."

Rose relaxed a little but not much.

"I should go and get them," she said attempting to move, but finding the Doctor's grip on her stronger than she remembered.

"No," the Doctor replied firmly. "They'll be fine for a few hours. You are going to eat something and rest."

"Doctor," Rose protested.

"Don't argue," the Doctor said leading her out of the bedroom towards the kitchen. "You are doing no one any good by worrying so much."

"How can I not worry?" Rose asked. "They're my kids!"

"They're mine too!" The Doctor reminded her. He sat her down in the kitchen and began making some kind of pasta dish. "They won't self combust just because you're not with them."

"I know," Rose ran a hand through her hair.

They sat in silence for a few minutes before Rose spoke again.

"I always thought…" She paused. "Never mind…"

"What?" The Doctor asked turning to look at her.

"Well… I never imagined having kids…" Rose shrugged. "I thought I'd always be with Mickey and he never seemed like the type to have kids."

"Mickey would've been a dad," the Doctor said thinking it over. "Maybe not for a few years, but I'm sure he'd have settled down eventually."

"Suppose we'll never know now," Rose sighed.

"Hey," the Doctor set a plate of pasta in front of her. "The twins will always know what a fantastic uncle they had."

Rose smiled slightly.

"Thanks, Doctor," she said, picking up her fork and trying the pasta.


	16. Chapter 16

Rose still fretted about the twins and couldn't wait to get them back into her arms, but she certainly felt better than she had done earlier. The other thing that was bothering her was the fact that the Doctor was still rushing doing tings and looking after Rose.

"Doctor?" Rose asked from her position on the seat in the console room. She was clutching a cup of tea, warming her hands.

"And if I calibrate…" the Doctor muttered something Rose didn't understand. She knew he must be stressed because he was talking in Gallifreyan.

"Doctor," Rose said again, rolling her eyes.

The Doctor continued wandering round the console messing with different wires and pushing his glasses up his nose. He pulled out the Sonic Screwdriver and began setting the frequency.

"Doctor!" Rose shouted. The Doctor finally looked up.

"Sorry, what did you say?" He asked looking distracted.

"Come here for a second," Rose gestured for him to sit down next to her.

The Doctor reluctantly dropped the wires and put the Sonic Screwdriver on the console.

"What?" Rose finished her tea and handed him the mug.

"I think we should go somewhere we can relax for a bit," she said.

"You've changed your tune," the Doctor noted.

"Well it's driving me mad because all I can hear is you talking in Gallifreyan and the twins thinking in Gallifreyan!" Rose moaned. "It wouldn't be so bad if I could understand you, but I can't. So let's take a holiday. Maybe if we all relax a bit you can star talking in a language I understand?"

The Doctor looked at Rose and saw how serious she was. Carefully he removed his glasses and put them in the pocket on the inside of his trench coat.

"Ok," the Doctor nodded. "Maybe it would do us all good."

"And we can decide what to call the twins as well," Rose smiled slightly.

"I thought we'd only got to pick between Luke and Elliot, and, Hazel and Freya?" The Doctor asked frowning slightly.

"We did, but they don't seem to suit the twins now that I've seen them," Rose said trying to look innocent.

"You have to be difficult," the Doctor sighed rolling his eyes.

"Yup, but you love me for it," Rose replied.

"True," the Doctor agreed giving Rose a quick hug. "I'll fetch the twins shall I?"

"Yeah, and you can change them while you're at it," Rose giggled.

"What? And chuck the dirty nappies at you?" The Doctor grinned. "If you insist!"

"Don't you dare!" Rose wagged a finger at him.

"How about I change one and you change the other then?" The Doctor suggested.

"Alright," Rose agreed.

Later that day the Doctor, Rose and the twins were sat in a field of emerald green grass and colourful wild flowers, eating marmalade sandwiches and banana's and drinking tea. Well the twins didn't have marmalade sandwiches, even Gallifreyans couldn't eat solids that quickly, so they had a special milk concoction the Doctor had prepared instead.

It had been an odd blue colour and Rose had been initially suspicious of giving it to the twins, but the Doctor had pointed out how stupid it would be of him to give his own children something that was potentially harmful and she didn't protest again.

The twins seemed to enjoy it though, downing it without any fuss. The Doctor then spent ages reeling off a whole load of names from memory, most of which Rose recognised some of which though she didn't.

"I was thinking," she said finally, as she bit into another sandwich. "What about Hannah?"

"Yeah, Hannah suits her," the Doctor agreed as he glanced down at his daughter, nestled in his arms.

"Well that's one down," Rose glanced down at the baby boy she was holding. "But I'm having a bit of problem with this one."

"What have you narrowed it down to?" The Doctor asked.

"Joshua and Jack," Rose bit her lip. "They're both great names, how are we going to pick?"

"Why pick?" The Doctor shrugged. "Why not have both. Then we can call him JJ for short."

Rose grinned.

"I used to know someone called JJ, but she was a girl," She giggled.

"Oh that'll make our son feel great!" The Doctor moaned, sticking his tongue out at Rose. "And do not tell Hannah when they're old enough because he'll never live it down if his own twin sister uses it against him."

"What the same way his mother rules the roost despite being a nineteen year old earth girl when his father is a nine hundred year old alien who's at least five times as intelligent?" Rose asked poking her tongue out at him.

"You want to be thankful the twins are here," the Doctor warned.

"Oh yeah? Why?" Rose asked raising an eyebrow.

"Because what I'm planning on doing is not something I think the kids should see," the Doctor grinned mischievously.

"Really?" Rose looked down at her son who was fast asleep. "We could always drop them off with my mother."


	17. Chapter 17

As the weeks passed it got easier. Rose didn't find it so hard to leave the twins and she managed to start eating and sleeping properly again. The stress levels dropped and though Rose could still hear the twin's thoughts, they were English instead of Gallifreyan.

The Doctor finally found that he had nothing left to fix on the TARDIS and was annoyed that the time ship seemed to run smoothly. After years of bumpy rides, the Doctor found the calmness too boring. So he started breaking the TARDIS, much to the dismay of both the ship itself and Rose.

"Can't you just leave it?" She asked. "I prefer not to be bruised, battered and lying on the floor every time we land somewhere."

"God you're boring," the Doctor moaned. "What am I supposed to do with my spare time if the TARDIS doesn't need fixing?"

"Look after your kids?" Rose suggested, folding her arms.

The Doctor made a small non committal noise which Rose took to mean 'I'm not going to admit you're right'.

They remained silent for a few minutes and Rose was just contemplating fetching the twins back from her mothers when a sudden thought occurred to her.

"If I was out when the twins were born-"

"You weren't out," the Doctor put in. "Just not aware of what was happening."

"Fine," Rose muttered something which sounded awfully like 'pedant' under her breath. "Who was born first though? Hannah or JJ?"

"Hannah," the Doctor replied. "She's older by about three minutes, give or take. Why?"

"Just wondered," Rose shrugged standing up. "I'm going to fetch them anyway. I'll be back in a minute."

"I'll come with you if you want," the Doctor offered.

"S'all right," Rose smiled slightly. "I think I can manage to bring them down from my mum's."

"Ok," the Doctor returned to whatever he was doing with the Sonic Screwdriver, humming softly.

As Rose made her way up to the flat she paused as she felt a twinge in her gut, like the beginnings of cramp. Maybe her periods were finally going to catch up with her again?

She shrugged it off and continued up to the flat, tapping lightly on the door in case the twins were asleep. Her mother opened it and smiled as her daughter stepped inside.

"They ok?" Rose asked, following Jackie into the living room, where the twins were asleep in their carry chairs.

"Good as gold," Jackie nodded. "A lot better than you ever were."

"Thanks," Rose chuckled.

"Are you off somewhere then?" Jackie turned back to her daughter, arms folded in a no-nonsense way.

"Just taking a stroll a few years into the future, and about three hundred thousand light years across space," Rose said. "The Doctor reckons there's this really good baby shopping centre on this one planet, so we thought we'd check it out."

"You can always leave the twins here," Jackie said trying to sound off hand. Rose knew exactly what she was up to.

Ever since they were born, her mother had been trying to persuade Rose to leave the twins behind when she and the Doctor went off for adventures. They weren't proper adventures, usually shopping trips, but Rose found it slightly annoying her mother didn't trust her and the Doctor to keep their own children safe.

"They'll be fine mum," Rose assured Jackie. "The Doctor might've not been able to promise that I'll be kept out of danger, but he wouldn't risk our children's lives. We will not go anywhere near anywhere dangerous."

"But how can you know for sure?" Jackie said biting her thumb.

"Because…" Rose sighed unsure of how to put it. "Look. If you were the Doctor, would you let me get in harms way? Would you go out without a back up plan just on the very slightest chance that something should happen to you?"

Jackie shook her head sighing herself. She pulled her daughter in for a hug. Rose smiled slightly, wrapping her arms tightly around her mother.

"Just take care ok?" Jackie said.

"I will," Rose promised. She smiled once more reassuringly at her mother and picked up the twins carry chairs, one in each hand.

"And will you want tea?" Jackie asked watching her daughter head for the door.

Rose paused considering for a second. She could almost hear the Doctor's voice in her head begging her to say no. No matter how often they hung around at her mother's, the Doctor's like for domestic with her never got any better.

"I should think so," Rose nodded and she could almost hear the Doctor's groan. _Serves him right for breaking the TARDIS_ she thought as she headed down the stairs and out onto the court.

The TARDIS was less than twenty foot away, but Rose had to stop and put the twins down as the stomach cramps started up again. She clutched her stomach for a moment, deciding she better ask the Doctor about it, after all the twins might've had more of an effect on her body than she'd realised.

She straightened up slightly gasping s the pain ripped through her gut. Taking several deep breaths she knew she had to make it to the TARDIS and the Doctor. She took a step forward and then another. That was when it went wrong. Rose fell to her knees, clutching her stomach so hard that she might've cause herself pain if she weren't already suffering more than her body could cope with.

Glancing up at the TARDIS she tried to call out for help, but no sound came from her mouth. Sobbing she lay writhing in pain praying the Doctor would find her.


	18. Chapter 18

The Doctor already had a strong bond with Rose, made stronger by the twins, but he knew something was wrong when he hear his kids crying out for him with their thoughts.

He straightened up quickly and cursed as he whacked his head off the console. Putting the Sonic Screwdriver down he pulled himself out of the metal grating floor and headed for the door flinging them open.

His eyes fell upon Rose who was clutching her stomach, on the floor. He threw himself to his knees beside her, reaching out to touch her face gently.

"Help me," Rose begged.

The Doctor reluctantly had to leave Rose and get the twins inside the TARDIS first before returning to Rose's side and scooping her into his arms. He carried her all the way into the infirmary and set her down on one of the beds. She continued to clutch her stomach, trying to curl up into a ball just to stop the pain.

"Rose, love, listen," the Doctor said soothingly. "I need you to lie straight so I can scan you."

Rose straightened out as best she could, still grimacing and hissing in pain. The Doctor worked as fast as he could to set up the scan. He quickly checked that the twins were ok in the console room (they were fine, just worried that they couldn't establish a connection with their mother) and waited rather impatiently for the results of the scan to turn up.

When they did, they weren't good. The Doctor frowned, double checking them. He'd hoped this wouldn't affect Rose; he wasn't sure how much more her frail human body could take.

"Ok," he said wandering over to the bed. "I need you to put my hand exactly where it hurts Rose."

Rose looked at him for a moment before taking his hand and guiding it over her stomach lying directly over her middle. The Doctor closed his eyes concentrating for a moment. Rose relaxed slightly and he knew he'd done it.

"What did you do?" She asked weakly.

"Just took the pain away," the Doctor replied, ignoring the knowing feeling he now had in his own stomach. "The thing is you shouldn't be suffering from this."

"Yeah, but you said that about the twins," Rose reminded him with a weak smile.

"Yeah, well the twins you could cope with, just," the Doctor sighed. "I don't have the medical facilities to treat this."

"What exactly is wrong with me?" Rose asked, frowning worriedly.

"Your body's attacking itself from the inside," the Doctor said choosing his words carefully. "It's doing what it would've done to the twins, but the reactions been delayed a little, so you're hurting yourself."

"And?" Rose asked, fearing there was more.

"It's not going to stop until it's destroyed the foreign body, but since you _are_ the foreign body you are effectively trying to kill yourself," the Doctor bit his lip.

"And you don't have a cure?" Rose sat up slightly, looking over at the Doctor.

"No," the Doctor admitted. "But I do know where we might be able to find one."

"Well that's alright then," Rose smiled slightly. "We'll just go and get it."

"We _might_," the Doctor said again. "But we might not."

"Great," Rose lay back on the bed again, staring at the ceiling. "So I'm dying of something we may or may not be able to cure, if we can find the antidote."

The Doctor nodded.

"But I will get you that cure if it's the last thing I do," the Doctor continued with a bit more determination. "Our kids are not growing up without a mother… and I don't want to lose you either."

Rose nodded, though she didn't look happy.

"I'm sorry," the Doctor wandered back towards her and took her hand in his. "This is my fault."

"It's not your fault," Rose said, glancing at him.

"It is," the Doctor protested. "You were travelling with me and I was supposed to take care of you, not take advantage and get you pregnant."

"I'll have you know you did no such thing!" Rose scoffed. "I was pulling the shots that night."

The Doctor chuckled then.

"My point still stands," he said shaking his head. "I'll do everything in my power to get this cure."

"I know," Rose smiled weakly again.

The Doctor had carried Rose to their bedroom and tucked her into bed, making her promise to rest before he headed for the console room, intent on finding the location of a cure for her.

The twins watched him from their carry seats, holding up podgy little hands, wanting to be cuddled every time he passed. The Doctor hated to ignore his kids, but he needed his hands free. True he could've picked one up, but that would've left the other feeling left out.

It took him a while but he finally managed to locate a possible source for the cure. There was no guarantee but it was better than nothing. He set the TARDIS into flight and the old time ship vwoorped out of existence, into the time vortex.

They landed a few minutes later and the Doctor headed for the doors. He stood for a minute without opening them, then turned back and grabbed the twins from the floor. He carried them into the room he shared with Rose and laid them in their cots.

Cooing quietly so as not to wake Rose, he managed to get the twins off to sleep as well before he headed back to the console room. This time he knew that he could leave safe in the knowledge that should anything happen to him, the TARDIS would get Rose and the twins back to Earth.


	19. Chapter 19

The Doctor stepped out onto the planet and straight into what looked like a market. But the Doctor knew this wasn't just any old market. You had to know what to bargain with and exactly who to bargain with or you could be in deep trouble. Deep trouble that you couldn't always get out of.

He checked his pockets to make sure he had the Sonic Screwdriver and Psychic Paper before heading off down the line of stalls in search for an apothecary or anyone who might have knowledge of ancient herbal remedies.

He located a likely looking stall and approached it warily, keeping his hands in his pockets, protecting everything he had in his trench coat. There were several other people looking at the different coloured liquids in the little bottles neatly arranged. All of the people (well aliens) looked dodgy, but then the Doctor knew only too well how dangerous this place could be. He'd already seen several life forms eyeing up the TARDIS and asking passers by if they knew who was selling it.

"Excuse me?" The Doctor asked the kind looking part human woman who was managing the stall.

She was tall and slim and looked human apart from the scaly tail and smattering of scales, like freckles across her nose. Her willowy brown hair flew behind her in the breeze.

"Can I help you?" She asked. If the Doctor had had to guess he would've said she was about Rose's age. But he knew all too well that looks were deceiving.

"I'm looking for a specific antidote," the Doctor began. "But it is rather a private matter and I was wondering if there was anyone I could talk to somewhere a little less open?"

He didn't want to sound like he was trying to get this particular girl on her own or she might've thought HE was a bit dodgy, but she simply smiled and nodded.

"My mum and dad are in the tent just there," she said. "They'll help you out."

The Doctor smiled his thanks and headed over to the tent the girl had indicating. He lifted up the flap and bent inside spotting the girls parents. Her mother was sat down at a desk, with hundreds of papers scattered in front of her.

"Ummm, your daughter sent me," he said quietly. He woman looked up and her husband paused briefly in his shelf stacking to glance at the Doctor.

"Sit down, love," the woman said gesturing to the chair in front of her desk.

The Doctor sat down carefully and waited whilst the woman shuffled some of the papers into a neat pile. She looked over the top of her glasses at him, surveying him carefully.

"My name's Madam Rossa," she said quietly, clasping her hands together. "What can I help you with?"

The Doctor considered for a moment. How was he supposed to explain it without giving away valuable information?

"Would you happen to have, or know how to make Illepticum?" The Doctor asked carefully.

Madam Rossa looked at him as if trying to decide whether he was joking or not.

"It's not my business, but I would need details of the Time Lord or Lady you're treating," Madam Rossa said carefully. "And I will need you to fetch the ingredients."

The Doctor sighed with relief smiling.

"Anything, anything," he said. "As long as I can get hold of this cure."

Madam Rossa riffled through her papers and pulled one out, looking it over briefly. She picked up a quill and dipped it in an ink pot.

"How old is…"

"Rose, her name's Rose," the Doctor filled in. "And the circumstances are difficult. She's human and she's only twenty, see the thing is, she had my kids and…."

The Doctor paused realising he was rambling. Madam Rossa looked at him for a moment and then started scribbling something down.

"Right, it'll be complicated and I can't guarantee it will work, you might have to strengthen it with something," she said after a minute. "But these are the ingredients I will need and where you can find them. Assuming you came straight here then I'm guessing your human partner has little over a day to live. I suggest you hurry."

The Doctor took the piece of paper Madam Rossa held out to him and pulled his glasses out of his pocket, perching them on the end of his nose as he read. There were quite a few ingredients to get, some of which he could locate easily at the TARDIS and save himself unnecessary trips round the planet, but others he would have to search for. And they wouldn't be easy to get.

"Thanks, I'll be back in a few hours," the Doctor said nodding his thanks as he left.

He headed back to the TARDIS first, intent on making sure that Rose and the twins were still ok before he left on his hunt. He opened the doors and found the TARDIS humming and clicking as she expressed her concern for her inhabitants.

The Doctor patted the console soothingly on the way past, muttering something in ancient Gallifreyan. He made a mental note to allow the TARDIS to translate Gallifreyan for Rose at some point.

He headed down the corridors towards his and Rose's room and opened the door, slipping in quietly. Rose was still asleep and so were the twins. The Doctor wandered over to the cots and looked down at his two beautiful kids, smiling sadly to himself.

Seeing them only made him more determined to make sure they grew up with a mother. He sat on the edge of the bed, sighing slightly.

"Alright?" The Doctor turned to see Rose lying on her side looking at him.

"Yeah," he nodded. "You?"

She just shrugged, reaching out for his hand.

"I think I've found a cure," he said not wanting to raise her hopes too much, just in case. He knew there was no point lying to her, she'd see straight through him. "I've just gotta fetch some ingredients and I'll be back with it. I can't promise it'll work though."

The Doctor had o swallow the lump rising in his throat.

"That's ok," Rose said forcing a smile. "Even if I die, I'll still have had the best life possible."

"No you won't," the Doctor replied. "I'll have killed you."

"No you won't," Rose frowned. "Don't ever think that. I wanted to travel with you; I wanted to have the twins. No one is responsible for this, it just happened."

The Doctor nodded squeezing her hand gently.

"If it doesn't work-"

"Don't say that," the Doctor interjected.

"If it doesn't work," Rose continued. "Make sure the twins know about Mickey, yeah?"

The Doctor nodded mutely. How could a young human girl like Rose have more courage than a nine hundred year old Time Lord?


	20. Chapter 20

The Doctor had managed to locate five of the seven ingredients he required. They hadn't been that hard. Most of them he'd been able to find and pocket relatively easy, only upsetting one or two (ok nine) of the planets less friendly inhabitants.

The next ingredient was some kind of herb which only grew at the bottom of the valley. All he had to do was dodge the forty odd dog like creatures, with huge teeth. It was a breeze compared to some of the things he'd done with Rose. Blowing up parliament being one of them.

He sighed and took his Sonic Screwdriver out of his pocket and set it to a high pitched whine he knew worked on bears and lions. Charging down the hill, he pointed to Screwdriver at any dog like creatures that launched themselves at him and luckily, they whimpered and backed away, giving him long enough to retrieve the herb.

Just one more to go. Glancing down at the list cautiously, whilst keeping one eye on the weird dog like creatures, he quickly scanned over the scratchy writing to find the last ingredient.

He sighed and carefully made his way back up the hill, ignoring the snarls off the dog creatures as he passed. The Doctor had to head towards the mountain to find some weird kind of fruit.

Inside he prayed he wasn't going to be too late when he finally got this potion made up. He didn't know how he'd cope if Rose died. Well, he probably wouldn't have to cope; Jackie would kill him through all his regenerations if he was responsible for Rose's death.

The Doctor searched high and low over the mountain trying to find the blasted fruit and couldn't. Then again he was only going on a vague description. It wasn't like there was NO fruit up on the mountain, there just wasn't the fruit he required.

The Doctor could feel himself getting more and more frustrated and in the end he sat down, thinking carefully about the fruit and trying to form a picture of it in his mind.

It was described as a half circle of purple, with green spots. It had some sort of stalk and that was brown. The Doctor ran a hand through his hair muttering to himself, staring blankly at the grass in front of him.

"Think, think, think," he said to himself.

The grass in front of him was just as blank as his mind. Well, it wasn't totally blank there were some weird mushrooms growing there. They were purple with khaki spots on and an oddly sickly brown….

The Doctor could've smacked himself. All the time he'd been looking for trees and bushes, he'd passed no end of these mushroom things and not once had it crossed his mind that fruit might grow and look like that on this planet. Grabbing a handful he darted back down the valley and heading towards Madam Rossa's tent again.

The Doctor paced impatiently as Madam Rossa added the ingredients and stirred the potion, mixing in other little things that she pulled seemingly from nowhere.

Her daughter, who the Doctor had found out was called Nalli, was watching him curiously. Evidently she'd never seen a human (or at least a humanoid) before. Apart from herself the nearest to human Nalli had seen was an odd purple alien that vaguely had the outlines of limbs.

The Doctor couldn't sit still. Every time Madam Rossa paused with her mixing he froze, wondering if she was about to tell him it was ready. Each time however she simply consulted a piece of paper, or watched the mixture for a moment before resuming her stirring.

Finally however, she scooped out some of her pots contents into a glass flask and screwed on a lid handing it to the Doctor.

"Thank you," he said, kissing Madam Rossa on the forehead. "I owe you my life."

"Well, I don't want your life, but there is one thing you could do for me," she said, smiling as she watched the Doctor dance happily about.

"Anything," he replied, grinning from ear to ear, even though he still had to find out if the potion worked.

"I need you to take my daughter away from here," she said seriously. "She's not safe. We can't leave because it'll be noticed, but Nalli would be presumed dead."

The smile slipped from the Doctor's face.

"Why is she in danger here?" He asked.

"The authorities come round and take children from us," Madam Rossa suddenly looked very dark. "I've had three taken already. I don't want to lose another. Once she reaches maturity, she can return, but if she had any sense she wouldn't."

The Doctor frowned. He would need to sort this out. But he needed to save Rose as well. Torn between the two he looked at Madam Rossa.

"I will fix things here," he promised her. "I'll make sure that they never take your children again. But I have to save Rose first."

Madam Rossa looked at him as though she were wondering whether he'd just do a runner. But in the end she nodded.

"You're a good man," she said. "I know you'll come back."

"I will," the Doctor said firmly.

With that he left, racing towards the TARDIS. Storming past the console and through the endless corridors, the Doctor almost tripped and broke his neck several times. This would not have been good for Rose because even if the antidote had not been crushed, she might not have coped with a new regeneration.

He opened the door to their room and caught sight of Rose, looking pale, but awake and smiling at him.

"I got it," he said rushing over to her and sitting, facing her.

"Good," she said weakly.

He took out the container and unscrewed the lid passing it to Rose.

"I'd drink it all," he said as she held it to her nose and sniffed it warily. "Too much won't hurt you, but too little…"

He trailed off not wanting to think about it. Rose downed the potion in one and grimaced at its horrible taste.

"At least it tastes bad," she said, leaning back against her pillow.

"How is that a good thing?" The Doctor asked frowning.

"The worse it taste the better it is for you," Rose said smiling, but it was half hearted.

"Oh, Rose," the Doctor , moved up the bed and sat next to her, wrapping an arm round her waist and pulling her close. "You'll be fine, I promise."

"Don't promise," Rose said. "It'll only make you feel worse if I…"

She didn't need to finish the sentence. The Doctor knew exactly what was going on in her mind. He sighed and kissed the top of her head gently.

"I love you, remember that," the Doctor whispered in her ear.

"I love you too," Rose replied just as quietly. "Always have, always will."

She snuggled closer to him, closing her eyes and letting sleep wash over her. The Doctor wondered vaguely whether he ought to get some shut eye, but decided against it, knowing he'd never manage it.

He glanced over at Hannah and JJ, still fast asleep in their cots, their tiny bodies curled up under the blankets. The Doctor smiled slightly, not quite believing that they were his kids. Somehow he never thought he'd be a Dad again. Not after the Time War.

The Doctor stayed with Rose throughout the night, hoping that she'd be ok. Towards morning (or what the TARDIS told him was morning on the planet outside) Rose began to shiver.

He wrapped her up tighter in the duvet, but she continued to shake, her body temperature dropping dangerously low. The Doctor didn't know what else to do, but sit with her and wait it out, clutching her hand tightly.

An hour after the shivering started, she suddenly stopped, and to the Doctor's horror, he felt her go limp. He was holding his breath making no noise at all. Rose didn't move and as the Doctor felt her fingers go limp in his hand, he knew that she'd just taken her last breath.


	21. Chapter 21

_"Come on!" A girl with chocolate brown hair and bright blue eyes called to her brother as they galloped around a field of golden grass._

_"Alright!" Her brother panted back, his own chocolate brown hair scruffy and sticking up in odd places much like his fathers._

_Following the two children was a tall man in a pin stripe suit and long brown trench coat and a blonde woman in her early thirties. They walked behind their children, their hands linked, happy with just being together._

_"Come on Dad!" The boy called out when he reached his sister. "You said you'd play hide and seek with us!"_

_"Ok, I'm coming," the man grinned and let go of his partners hands, chasing after his children, laughing as they squealed._

_The blonde woman watched the three of them, shaking her head at just how childish her partner was. He'd always been like that though. Ever since he'd first picked her up on Earth fifteen year previously…_

_-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------_

_A tall man in a pin striped suit wandered through the grave yard sighing to himself. His son and daughter were walking behind him, heads bowed, watching their feet as they clutched a bunch of daffodils and a bunch of Rose's._

_They stopped in front of a grave and the man in a pin striped suit placed a hand on each of his children's shoulders. They laid the bunch of daffodils, muttering something as they did so. The man wasn't really listening, he was destroying himself from the inside wishing he could've saved the next person they were going to visit._

_They spent longer in front of the second grave, the children looking distinctly shiny eyed by the time they stood up. But the man didn't move. He couldn't bear to see the name scrawled on the grave._

_He bent and hugged his kids tightly, tears coming to his own eyes as he read the inscription again and again;_

_Rose Tyler._

The Doctor took several deep breaths. These were two very different outcomes, and it was down to him as to which one would come true. The thing was he had no idea how to make things right.

Rose hadn't taken a breath for more than a minute now and if she went any longer without oxygen it was likely to leave her brain damaged, or worse.

He began running hands through his hair, but he had no plan. No last minute hair brained scheme to save them. For once, he knew that he couldn't risk his own life; he'd already risked Rose's.

His hearts were breaking, but he wouldn't let it show. Whilst Rose was still there, there was a chance he could save her. He could do something, anything, at least try and rectify what he'd done.

_It's our fault…_

The Doctor spun round and saw that the twins were both awake. Awake and fully aware of the situation.

_We shouldn't exist… go back in time and fix things Dad…_

The Doctor stared at them horrified.

_You are not to blame. I can't go back and stop it. It wouldn't just be you who disappeared, the reapers would come… I'd destroy he universe… Rose wouldn't want that…_

The Doctor glanced back at Rose, grief washing over him again. How could he have let this happen? He knew the risks involved with her being pregnant with his kids, why hadn't he forced her to have an abortion?

He sighed. He knew that even if he could have the time again he'd never force Rose to abort the kids. For her sake as much as the twins; he couldn't make her go through something like that.

_No… I have to face facts, there's nothing I can do. It's going to be just like the Time War. I should've died, but instead everyone else does. I'm sorry kids, I've failed you…_

The Doctor sat on the bed his face in his hands, dangerously close to breaking down. If it weren't for his kids, he'd slink off into time and space and remain in the TARDIS until he finally withered and died.

_It's not your fault Daddy._

The Doctor smiled. Ever the optimistic. That was one of Rose's attributes. Their kids were so perfect, but it didn't seem fair that Rose wouldn't get to see them grow up.

"I'm sorry, Rose, I'm so sorry…" the Doctor's voice cracked as the tears began to roll down his cheeks.

"What for?" Asked a voice from behind him.

The Doctor looked up and he could've sworn that his hearts actually stopped beating. Rose was sat up, frowning at him worriedly.

"Oh god, Rose," the Doctor got up and sat closer, pulling Rose into a hug. "You just… I swear… I…"

"I know, I know," Rose said quietly. "I did just die. Only I didn't…"

The Doctor pulled back and looked at her confused.

"What?" He asked.

"Do you know what happens when you die?" Rose asked carefully.

The Doctor shook his head.

"It's not somewhere the Time Lords had access too," he replied. "The one place we could never report from."

"Well I don't know either…" Rose rubbed her head. "Or at least I'm not supposed to. I died, but… I… I met someone… they sent me back… I dunno… maybe I imagined it, you know, lack of oxygen and everything."

The Doctor nodded.

"Maybe…" he hugged her again."I'm just so glad you're still alive."

"Me too," Rose smiled to herself.

A few weeks, several visits to Jackie's, and much worrying on the Doctor's part later, Rose and the twins had settled down a lot.

All three were in a routine which meant they were fed and rested and being the family the Doctor had always wanted. The family he'd had once.

He smiled slightly as he stood in Jackie's kitchen doorway watching the two Tyler women, play with the twins who were lying on their backs on the floor, looking up at them with big blue eyes.

Rose hadn't talked much about what had happened when she'd 'died' and the Doctor had been more than happy to leave the subject. They were all alive and well and that was all that mattered to him.

The only thing she had said once was that it had defiantly been someone she knew that she'd met that had sent her back. The Doctor was pretty sure he knew who it was and his suspicions were confirmed when he ran a scan in the TARDIS.

Turning back into the kitchen he smiled at the golden figure stood there. Only the Doctor could see it, and he knew it wouldn't last long. In fact he'd only disturbed the person long enough to say one thing.

"Thanks, Mickey," he smiled genuinely.

The golden figure of Mickey smiled back, before dissipating into a million golden sparks, floating back to the vortex where he could keep an eye on things until Rose, the Doctor and the twins came to join him.


End file.
